Summer at the Burrow
by NotYourAverageSchoolgirl
Summary: Why has Ginny suddenly found herself so distracted by Harry Potter? And what's going on between Hermione and Ron?
1. Good Morning

"Er... Good morning."

Harry's voice could be heard from the bottom of the stairs. Ginny woke up, rubbing her eyes blearily as she shuffled out of bed. She made her way downstairs, then remembered. _Oh no! Harry!_ She looked down at herself. _I look a fright!_

"Ginny!" She froze, turning towards Harry reluctantly, trying to hide her blush. _Of all the days to wear the frog print pajamas!_ __  
  
He shifted uncomfortably, looking at his feet as he lightly joked, "Like your pajamas, Ginny. They rather remind me of Neville." 

Ginny blushed again, and then forced herself to look him in the eye. "Come on, Harry. Let's go down for breakfast. Ron will be waiting for you, I'm sure."

He nodded, absently running a hand through his rumpled hair. "Yeah..." he chuckled. "We've really got to start practicing for Quidditch, you know."

Ginny rolled her eyes. _Boys. They're all the same._ "We only started summer holidays last week," she laughed, watching the indignant look on his face.

"Quidditch is important, Ginny!" he protested. "We've wasted enough time already!" She walked ahead of him into the kitchen purposefully, rolling her eyes again as she heard the conversation over breakfast.

"Did you see that move?" Ron was saying in awe over a recent Quidditch game. "I've got to learn it!"

Ginny and Hermione exchanged knowing glances as they both mouthed the same word.

_Boys._


	2. A Little Quidditch

**Thanks for the reviews guys! It's nice to have some support, especially since this is my first fic and it means a lot to me... So here's a bit more. Enjoy!**

Later that morning, Hermione and Ginny sat on the lawn as the boys whizzed by on their broomsticks, yelling excitedly. "And he scores!!!" Ron screamed. 

Harry hooted from one end of the lawn, swiping his bangs from his eyes as he grinned, watching Ron's victory dance. "They girls will really go for that, Ron!"

Hermione snapped her head up, frowning slightly as she slammed her book shut. "Honestly, could they be any more distracting?" she huffed. "I'm trying to learn some new charms this summer, and they're incredibly difficult, and all they go on about is how their Quidditch skills are going to get them girls. Honestly!"

Ginny stretched, shaking her thick red hair out of her eyes. _Wait, was he looking at her?_ She felt a familiar blush spread over her cheeks as she furtively sneaked a glance at Harry, who was currently staring off to where she sat.

"Ginny?"

Ginny turned back to Hermione, the guilty expression on her face clearly giving her away. "Yes?"

"Were you even listening to me?"

Ginny giggled. "Of course," she idly twirled a blade of grass as she gave Hermione a smirk. "I think that you're just jealous that Ron's talking about other girls. I think..." she tilted her head, smirking. "That you fancy him!"

Hermione blushed. "Of course not! Ron can be an absolute git." she stood up, brushing the front of her jeans, refusing to look Ginny in the eye. "He may be one of my best friends and all, but sometimes he's more of a git than Malfoy!"

Ginny pretended to ponder this as she too stood up, pulling her hair up into a loose ponytail. "Maybe so," she murmured to Hermione. "But haven't you heard that all good relationships need a little fire?"

From the field, Harry and Ron stopped their game for a moment to observe the antics of the girls, who had, a few minutes ago been relaxing on the lawn. Now however, Ginny was running around in circles, laughing so hard that tears were leaking from her eyes, while Hermione shrieked, running after her threateningly with a book.

"What's going on over there, you think?" Harry asked, running a hand through his unruly hair.

"I don't know, mate," Ron answered, completely in awe.

The two friends looked at each other and shrugged, then hopped back onto their brooms, each mumbling a single word under his breath.

"Girls."


	3. Feelings Reciprocated

**Yeah! I'm on a roll today! Lol. This is what happens when you're on summer break and have nothing else to do. Okay okay! Review! Thaaanksss... **

Harry ambled over to where Ginny sat, furiously writing a letter. She bit her lip in concentration as she finished the letter, rolling up the parchment and tying it to Pig's leg. The little owl hooted and flew out her window, zigzagging its way hazardously into the sky.

"Hey Ginny," he grinned, running a hand through his hair, a nervous habit that he had picked up. "What are you doing?""Nothing much," she replied, trying to sound nonchalant as she too, ran a hand through her hair. _Darn. I've been spending way too much time around him.___   
  
He smiled at her, making her blush again. "So I saw Hermione out to kill you this morning. What happened? Did you take _Hogwarts, A History_ away from her or something?"Ginny opened her mouth to speak, but just then Ron walked into the room. "I..."Both of the boys looked expectantly at her."Yeah, Ginny," Ron scratched his head, looking confused. "What's wrong with Hermione? When I asked her about it, she slammed her door on me and called me an insensitive git. Is it," he lowered his voice, turning a bit red. "That time of the month, maybe?"His sister stared at him for a moment, and then burst into giggles. "Oh Ron," she gasped between peals of laughter. "Is that what all boys really think?"Harry and Ron looked at each other, shaking their heads. "Well..." Harry shuffled his feet, shrugging his shoulders. "Yeah!""Well, she's not." Ginny leaned against her bed, still a bit giggly. "It's just..."She struggled for a few moments as the boys looked at her, prompting her to continue."Err..." she tried to find a plausible lie. "Hermione's upset... because... I tried to put makeup on her."Silence.Ginny smiled weakly at the boys._ I don't think that worked..._ She bit her lip nervously."What?!" Ron exploded, redder than usual. "She doesn't need the makeup! What were you thinking Ginny?"And with that he stormed out of the room, leaving a shocked Ginny and an amused Harry."He fancies her?" Ginny murmured, looking up at Harry.Harry nodded, and grinned. "For just about forever. Now are you going to tell me what really happened this morning?""Well..." she shifted uncomfortably, finally patting the space on the bed next to her as she sighed. "Sit down. I think our friends are in need of a bit of help..." 


	4. Onion Soup

**Yet another chapter out today. I think I'm going to become a fanfiction addict... Haha. It's only my second day on this thing. So please review! And give me lots of constructive criticism... I want to know what I can do to improve my writing. Thanks guys! **  
  
"Hey Hermione!"

Hermione turned around in annoyance. "What do you want Ron?" She wiped at her eyes, brushing away the tears that were a result of chopping up onions with Mrs. Weasley all afternoon for the family's dinner. _God but that family was huge_.

Ron reached her, his face etched with concern. "Hey," he asked softly, "Are you crying? Is this because of Ginny?"

She brushed at her eyes furiously. _There was probably some huge piece of onion in there._ "Of course not, Ron," she snapped. "Don't be ridiculous. I've been making soup, that's all."

"Hermione," Ron said softly, slowly bringing his arms around her. "It's okay. You don't have to lie to me. I..." he faltered for a moment, staring deep into her red, irritated eyes. "I think you're beautiful no matter what."

"What?" Hermione stumbled out of his embrace, still rubbing her eyes. "Ron," she sighed in exasperation, examining him critically. "Have George and Fred slipped something into your food again? Ron, I keep telling you to be careful. It's not always a joke, you know. Someday, they're going to put something terribly dangerous into your drink without knowing it and it's not just going to cause temporary delusion!" She marched off to the sink to wash her eye out.

"Wait!" Ron cried out in anguish. "No, Hermione!" He sighed in resignation, trudging back to his room, flopping on the bed.

Harry looked up when he walked in and clicked his tongue sympathetically. "No luck, mate?" Ron shook his head.

"She's very upset with Ginny," he confided. "I can tell. And mate, today, I found out so much more about her."

"Did you now?" Harry asked, a bit impressed with how perceptive his friend was being for once.

"Yes," Ron nodded solemnly. "Her eyes can get amazingly red."


	5. A Midnight Rendezvous

**Yay! There's more! And it's an exciting chapter (haha, or so I hope) with a bit of lovely awkwardness between our little lovebirds. But there's _plenty_ of that to come. So please read and review! And I love you guys of course! **

Harry sat cross-legged on the floor of Ginny's room, looking up at her. She sat on her bed, today in bunny print pink pajamas, holding a flashlight.

"We've got to get those two together!" She exclaimed in a loud whisper.

Harry nodded furiously, then looked around in curiosity. "Ginny," he asked. "Aren't your walls silenced or anything?"

She rolled her eyes in reply. "No," she huffed angrily. "And it's all George and Fred's fault. You see, Mum doesn't trust them, so she de- silenced all the walls so she could hear whenever they explode something in their room."

"Oh."

"Well anyway," she stood on her bed, reaching for something on top of her giant old wooden dresser. "Ah, here we are." Pulling down a notebook and pen, she jumped off her bed, landing with a dull thud next to Harry. Sitting down cross-legged and facing him, she smiled. "So what shall we do?"

Harry shrugged. "Well I reckon we should give them as much alone time as possible," he suggested. "You know, lock them up in a room together or something."

Ginny nodded, scribbling notes into her notebook. "Yes. We could put them in some kind of a situation where Ron could help her out, you know?" she sighed dreamily. "Like in storybooks, where the prince rescues the princess. Perhaps we could have some wild beast attack them. I'm sure Hagrid could lend us one," she added thoughtfully.

Harry groaned. "That would be a disaster, Ginny. Ron's clueless! Hermione would be the one who'd keep a clear head and hex the beast."

Ginny sighed, throwing her pen down in frustration. She tucked a stray piece of red hair behind her ear, leaning against her dresser. "So what then?"

Harry too seemed deep in thought, frowning slightly at the owl cage where Pig now slumbered.

"I've got it!" he suddenly stood up triumphantly.

"Shhh!" Ginny admonished, glancing wildly at the door.

"Oh," he lowered his voice, sitting back down. Running a hand through his hair and grinning somewhat sheepishly, he joked, "Yeah, guess your parents wouldn't be too pleased if they found me in your room in the middle of the night, huh?"

Ginny blushed. "Yes, and Bill and Charlie would apparate home to roast you alive as well," she giggled. "Well, after George, Fred and Ron are through with you, that is."

He noted that she didn't mention Percy, who had completely severed himself from the family. _Complete prat._

"Well then," she continued. "Tell me your idea."

"Well," he sighed dramatically. "With my pure genius," he smirked when Ginny smacked him. "I've thought up of a brilliant plan."

"Tell me!" Ginny hissed, smacking his shoulder again, this time harder.

_Ouch. That would definitely leave a bruise_. "Fine, fine," he raised his hands in surrender. "So, tomorrow you and me are going to just disappear."

"Disappear?" He nodded. "We're going to go erm..." here he looked down uncomfortably, running a hand through his hair. "Well... we're going to go out."

Ginny stared at him. "A date, you mean?"

He shook his head, blushing. "No, not a real one. Just a fake one so that Ron and Hermione can see how deeply in love we are," he winced as Ginny smacked him for the third time. "And you know, so they can be alone while we're out of the house."

Harry could almost swear that he saw a shadow of disappointment pass over Ginny's face, but in a moment it was gone and replaced with a bright smile.  
  
"Sounds great!" She hopped back up onto her bed. "We'll go into town tomorrow then; we are in a wizarding town you know."

He didn't, but he didn't say anything. Nodding, he stood up uncertainly. "So, I suppose I should go to bed so that we can deal with everyone tomorrow, huh?"

Ginny giggled, shaking her head. "The things we do for those two." And with that she ran over to him, blushing as she gave him a quick peck on the cheek, whispering, "Goodnight Harry."

A few seconds later, Harry found himself standing outside of her closed bedroom door, his hand hovering over his cheek.

"Well," he whistled softly to himself. "That went well."


	6. Morning Madness

**Okay, so here's a new chapter. I'm not terribly happy with it, but this is the best I could do. Hope you guys like it. And thank you so much for the reviews! You guys are incredibly awesome! Hope I'm updating quickly enough for you guys, hehe. Hopefully, the next chapter will be better!**

The next morning, a bleary-eyed Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley made their way to the breakfast table, plopping down next to each other silently.

"Milk," Harry grunted to a chirpy Hermione whose eyes were no longer irritated. "Harry," she reprimanded as she handed him the milk. "You really shouldn't stay up late. I mean, its summer holidays and you're up doing what?" She pursed her lips, glaring at him. "Probably writing out new Quidditch strategies, am I right?"

Across from her, Ron piped up in defense of his best friend. "You're wrong Hermione! Harry was in bed early. Did you have trouble sleeping or something, mate?" He asked worriedly.

Harry gulped down some of his cereal, wiping his mouth on the back of his napkin. It was now or never. He looked over at Ginny and nodded almost imperceptibly at her.

Ginny blinked, apparently still half-asleep.

_Ah well_, Harry sighed. _She could join in on the surprise_. "Well Ron," he cleared his throat. "I couldn't sleep, you see."

Hermione snorted. "That much is obvious."

He ignored her and continued all the meanwhile trying to shoot 'meaningful' looks at Ginny. Unfortunately, she was concentrating on her spoon, apparently still feeling a bit groggy. "Ron, Mrs. and Mr. Weasley, George and Fred," he announced, standing up. "I know how much you care for Ginny."  
  
The whole kitchen went quiet, all eyes on Harry who was now blushing as he continued. "Er... well, I wanted to tell you that, well, I care for Ginny too."

They all stared at him in shock. For once, even Hermione was at a loss for words. Ginny snapped out of her reverie, mouth wide open as she stared up at him.

Mrs. Weasley immediately burst into tears. "Oh Harry dear..." she sniffled. "That's so wonderful. Ginny's been mad about you for years!"

"Mum!" Ginny protested, turning red.

"It's true!" The twins chorused in.

"Can't imagine why you would've picked her of all people," Ron commented, smiling weakly at Harry. "But I wish you the best of luck. Must tell you though, she has a nasty temper, that one."

This time, it was Hermione smacking Ron. "Ron you insensitive git!" she howled, almost tearfully. "This is wonderful!" She ran over to Ginny and dragged her over to Harry, then proceeded to bring her arms around both of them in a crushing hug.

"So Ginny," Harry said, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. "Do you want to go out today?"

Ginny blushed for the millionth time in the span of a few minutes, nodding her head vigorously. "Of course Harry!"

Hand in hand, they walked out of the kitchen, both shouting something unintelligible about "going into town".

"They're such a lovely couple," Mrs. Weasley sighed, wiping at her eyes. "Well," she turned back to the table. "I'd better be off to the market. I need to go buy groceries."

Mr. Weasley stood up as well, grabbing his robe as he went. "Well I better apparate to the office then. Bye," he leaned over to give his wife a kiss on the cheek.

Fred and George ran upstairs and shut the door to their room.

"They're making all sorts of horrible joke shop gags in there again," Mrs. Weasley grumbled, waving before she apparated.

Ron and Hermione sat at the empty table, staring across at each other.

"So," Ron finally said. "What are we supposed to do?"


	7. A Little Walk in Town

**Yet another chapter! Thanks for all the reviews guys! Well, I tried to make this one a bit longer. Okay, I just started this fic randomly, and have been pretty much letting it go wherever it wants to go. So seriously, I have no idea where it's leading, and I'm not sure how realistic it really is. It's just meant to be a fluffy, sometimes humorous little story about the couples. But I'm really open to suggestions, so if you think I should do anything differently, please review! Thanks!**

Ginny ambled down the cobblestone street, completely at ease as she pointed to the different shops. "See, and there's the old joke shop. Nothing much really," she confided. "Fred and George are doing a much better job. There's the florist, magically enchanted roses, you know. And oh!"

Harry stumbled as she grabbed his arm, pulling him into a shop. He glanced around. "The sweet shop," he remarked, already smiling as his eyes roamed over the barrels of different candies.

Ginny was already at a small shelf in the back of the shop, holding what to Harry, looked like a muggle candy called Pop Rocks. She turned around to talk to him, her eyes sparkling brightly as she brushed a few strands of her hair from her face. "They don't sell these at Hogsmeade, you know. It's quite a shame." Grabbing two packets, she made her way to the counter and paid for them despite Harry's protests. "Oh don't worry about it Harry," she giggled mischievously. "You didn't think I'd pay for everything, did you? Well," she flipped her hair over her shoulder, walking out of the store. "I'll just have you know mister, that you're taking me out and you're going to pay for lunch."

Harry grinned at this, feeling relieved. After all, the Weasley family wasn't exactly rich, and he would've felt terribly awkward if he let her pay.

"Here," she handed him a packet of the candy from the sweet shop. "What is it?" he looked at it curiously, noting that it did look like a wizard's version of Pop Rocks, except it was called Fireworks, and apparently guaranteed to explode in your mouth. _Hmm... Is this safe?_

"Go on!" Ginny encouraged, already opening her packet. "Like this, Harry!" She poured a bit into her mouth, and immediately, loud bangs and blinding lights emitted from her mouth.

Needless to say, Harry was a bit dubious about how 'enjoyable' it could possibly be to eat this candy.

Fifteen minutes later, a frustrated Ginny held both packets of candy and was walking side by side with Harry down the street. "You're such a coward," she sighed.

"I know," he answered stubbornly. "But seriously Ginny, those look like they could kill you!"

Ginny ignored that comment, turning her head in the direction of a small bookstore instead. "Let's go in there!" She reached for Harry's hand, tugging him inside.

As they entered the bookstore, Harry smiled softly, looking down at their entwined hands.

A wizened witch popped out behind a shelf, hoarsely greeting them. "Welcome to Bertha's Books. I'm Bertha, and if ye two little lovebirds need anything, I'll be over there." She pointed a grubby finger towards a small door in the back with a sign hanging over it that read 'Office'.

On hearing the word 'lovebirds', both Harry and Ginny started, and then looked down at their still entwined hands. Obviously flustered, Ginny pulled her hand away, blushing as she mumbled, "Err... sorry about that."

"No problem," Harry muttered in response. "So," he stuffed his hands into his pockets, trying to lighten the mood. "Why are we here? Don't tell me you're like Hermione."

She laughed, flouncing over to a nearby shelf. "I do enjoy reading, Harry," she teased. "But I thought we could come in here, you know, to find something for Hermione. Ron's not smart enough to pick out a gift she'd actually like, so..." she ran her fingers along the spines of the books. "I thought we could help him out a bit."

Harry walked over to a shelf and began to peruse.

"_Quidditch Strategies_?"

"For God's sake Harry, no!"

"Okay... how about _A History of the Broomstick_?"

"Harry! Think of what Hermione would like!"

"Oh! I've found one! How about _Snitches, Quaffles, and Bludgers: Inside the World of Professional Quidditch_?"

Silence.

"Ginny?" Harry peered around the bookshelf, finding himself face to face with Ginny who looked, suspiciously enough, just like she had when smacking him the night before.

"Harry," she began, her voice dangerously low. "You," she paused for a moment, trying to regain composure. "You are absolutely hopeless." He was about to protest, but on seeing the look on her face, thought better of it.

"Here's what I found," she shoved a book into his hand. "_Finding My Perfect Wizard_. It's very popular."

Harry turned the book over, reading the brief summary on the back. Looking up, he grimaced in disgust.

"Girls actually read this? All this junk about romance?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Believe me Harry, she'll love it. And if anything, all the romantic themes will lead her to think about Ron."

Harry's eyes widened in understanding. "Ohhhh...."

"See? I knew you weren't that dull."


	8. Some Hysterics

**Whoot! Seventh chapter out in one day. Lol. Yeah I know. I'm totally obsessed. But I guess this makes up for the chapters being too short? Or at least I hope so? Well enjoy guys, and I hope you like it. I think it's kind of moving into more of the feelings being revealed, and so it's getting more difficult to write. Hm... send suggestions my way please! And THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS. You guys totally rock. **

Meanwhile, back at the Burrow, Hermione was completely engrossed in her new potions book, and Ron was, well, bored.

"Hermione," he whined for the fifth time in three minutes. "What should I do?"

She shrugged, sighing in frustration. "Ron! How many times do I have to tell you? My potions grade next year depends on this! Last year it was my lowest grade, and I don't want that to repeat."

Ron snorted. "Hermione, last year you got a 96 percent in that class, the highest grade besides Malfoy."

"You see?" she said shrilly, looking distraught. "Malfoy had a higher grade than me! That complete prat!"

Ron shook his head. "Hermione, you don't need the studying. Come on, let's go outside for a game of Quidditch or something."

"I don't want to," she replied stubbornly, glaring at him. "And besides, Quidditch is a ridiculous game anyway."

Ron gasped indignantly. "It is not!"

She groaned.

Ron tried again. "How about a game of wizard's chess then?"

"Stop bothering me," she snapped. "Why don't you read something? Your marks last year weren't very satisfactory, and I think you should get a head start."

Ron stared at her, completely aghast. "Get a head start in July? Are you crazy?"

Hermione huffed. "Fine. If you want to fail, that's your problem."

He flopped down next to her, ignoring how she flinched. "Hermione, you know, I wasn't de... derusional yesterday."

"It's delusional, Ron."

"Yeah," he scratched his head, grinning nervously. "Well, I wasn't."

She snapped her book shut, biting her lip nervously as she looked at him. "Really?"

"Yeah," he laughed a little.

"You think..." her eyes began to well up with tears. "You think that..."

He stumbled towards her, alarmed, patting her back as he tried to comfort her. "Hey Hermione, there's no reason to cry. I think that Ginny's ridiculous too!"

Her head snapped up, and she looked at him, confused. "What?"

Unfortunately, Ron took this as a good sign. "Yeah," he nodded vigorously. "Because she told me and Harry about how she put makeup on you."

Hermione looked even more confused now. Now tearless, she sat up straight, staring at him. "She did?"

"Yeah!" Ron nodded some more. Not wanting to repeat what he had actually said to Harry and Ginny, he quickly improvised. "And I said, err... that... that you were too much of a bookworm to ever want to look good!"

He grinned triumphantly.

She clenched her fists.

"Ronald Weasley!" she finally shrieked, taking her heavy potions book and smacking his shoulder with it. "You... are so insensitive and... and..." she burst into tears a second time. "I hate you!" She shoved him out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

Ron stood outside the door, looking baffled.

"Wonder what got her so upset."


	9. Lunchtime Conversations

**I tried to make this one a bit longer, guys, but it wasn't too successful. Haha. Well it IS longer than the others at least. Um... well here it is, and I hope you guys like it. Please review! If you don't I'll stop writing! AND YES THAT WAS A THREAT. Kidding! Thanks for reviewing!**

"Hey let's go eat over there!" Harry pointed over to a little café with charming little outdoor settings. He smiled at Ginny, who was walking beside him, her cherry tresses ruffled by the wind. _She looks so alive_, he mused as he watched her eyes sparkle.

"Looks great Harry!"

They sat down at a table and soon a waiter brought out their menus and they ordered lunch.

"So," Harry tried to make conversation as they waited for their meal. "Ever been here before?"

Ginny nodded, then burst into laughter.

"What's so funny?" he set down his napkin, looking at her quizzically.

"It's just," she gasped for air. "I have a really interesting story about this place."

Harry grinned. "Do tell."

"Well," she began, smiling back at him as she folded her napkin across her lap. "I only went here once, with my great-aunt Wilma and it was an absolute disaster."

"Aww," he teased. "I thought you liked your whole family."

"I do!" she protested, but started to giggle. "But you don't understand great-aunt Wilma. She, well, she's a very frugal person."

Harry nodded understandingly. He supposed you could call Uncle Vernon frugal too, especially considering the tissue that he had received for a gift that one year.

"She," Ginny turned red, then lowered her voice. "It's rather embarrassing you see. She, well, tried to make off with the silverware."

Harry burst into laughter, slapping the table.

Ginny turned red, mumbling, "Well it was horrible. You see, the silverware was charmed, so when we were leaving, these forks and knives shot out from her bag and back to the table. One of the knives tore a hole in her bag, and get this, she had the nerve to go up to the manager and demand a new one."

Harry chuckled. "Wow," he finally said. "Your great-aunt sounds like quite a character."

"She is," Ginny agreed softly.

The waiter brought their meal out, and they ate, laughing over family stories.

"No, my family's worse," Harry interjected, waving a breadstick at her. "You'll never guess what my Aunt Petunia did one time. You see, she has this nasty habit of spying on neighbors, and one time, she crept into the garden of the house across the street. See, there were new neighbors who had just moved in and she wanted to know about them. So she sneaks in," he bit down on the breadstick. "And the woman in the house calls the police on her!"

Ginny who had been sipping on her juice burst into peals of laughter, spraying the table with orange juice. "Eww..." Harry remarked, wrinkling his nose.  
  
She blushed, wiping her mouth with her napkin. "Well it's your fault!"

"I suppose," he shot her a grin. "I'm just too funny, huh?"

She reached across the table, but by now he was too well accustomed to her smacking and caught her hand before she could hit him.

Ginny stared at their hands, her anger forgotten for a moment as she began to blush again. "Um..." she looked down at the table, flustered.

"Oh." Harry let go of her hand sheepishly. "Sorry."

"It's nothing," she replied lightly. "I'm just a little irked that I let you get the best of me."

"Let me?" Harry retorted, looking hurt. "I think I stopped your attack there with my quick reflexes! You were surprised. Admit it!"

Ginny turned away stubbornly. "Never!"

"Well I won," he smirked, leaning back into his chair.

Ginny reached over again to smack him, but once again he caught her hand.

"Hah!" Harry held up her hand triumphantly. "See? I told you!"

"I let you win again," she insisted, giggling.

"Um... excuse me sir, ma'am," the waiter coughed behind them.

Immediately, their hands separated and they both sat down, embarrassed.

After paying, they meandered in the streets, finally, despite Ginny's grumbles, stopping at the Quidditch store.

"I don't know why you want to be here," she sighed as she half-heartedly looked at brooms with him.

Harry however, was completely enthralled at the moment, staring reverently at a fluttering snitch in a glass case. "Pure gold, Ginny. And this one has special wings, see? It helps it to fly faster and endure harsher weather conditions. Bloody brilliant, I say."

Ginny nodded, mumbling, "Yeah," which seemed to please Harry enough. She wandered over to the posters, where she found a Chudley Cannons one that amazingly enough, Ron didn't have. Grabbing it, she walked over to the counter and paid for it.

Outside, Harry grinned at her. "See, I knew you'd like it!" She rolled her eyes. "I didn't buy anything for myself, Harry," she unrolled the poster. "It's for Ron, see?"

Harry nodded, realization dawning on his face. "So we're going to provide Hermione with a gift for Ron too, then?"

Ginny rolled the poster back up, nodding.

"I wonder how those two are getting along?" Harry mused.

"Oh," smiled Ginny. "They're probably confessing their love to each other right now."


	10. Reconciliation

**Thank you much for the reviews, guys! It makes me feel so loved and totally encourages me to keep writing. Anyway, I'm going to try to make my chapters a bit longer, so it might take longer to update. Don't worry, I'm not talking like a week per chapter or anything, just maybe a chapter a day or something. (But I promise I'll write more if I have time!) Oh and once again, thank you so much for the reviews. I'm trying to take suggestions to heart, so please give me some constructive criticism. THANKS TO MY READERS. **

"Hey Hermione," Ron knocked cautiously on Hermione's door, a bit alarmed by the sound of violent sobs coming from the room. "Hey, are you alright in there?"

Something thudded against the door, and Ron stepped away. Apparently she had thrown something heavy at the door.

Stepping back towards the door tentatively, Ron tried again. "Hey, won't you at least tell me what I did?"

He heard a muffled "Argh!" and finally, the door opened, revealing a red- eyed, sniffling Hermione.

"You know very well what you did," she spat at him, slamming the door before he could say anything.

"Wow," he muttered to himself as he walked downstairs. "I guess Ginny was wrong. It really does look like it's that time of the month."

In the kitchen, he found George and Fred jovially making sandwiches for lunch.

"Hey little brother!" George greeted him. "Where's Bookworm?"

Ron shrugged glumly. "She's in her room. I reckon she's mad at me or something."

Fred sighed and patted the seat next to him. "What'd you do?"

"I don't know!" Ron explained. "I mean, I was trying to comfort her, and then I said that Ginny was stupid because she tried to put makeup on Hermione and Hermione's too much of a bookworm to want to look good, and..."

"Stop right there." George commanded.

Ron looked up at him, annoyed. "What?"

The twins looked at him pityingly. "You committed a huge crime, little brother," Fred sighed.

"Do you think there's any hope for him?" George patted Ron on the back.

"Hopefully." Fred looked at Ron. "Listen to me Ron. You are never, ever, ever to even hint to a girl that she is ugly."

"But I didn't!" Ron protested.

"Yes you did," Fred continued slowly and patiently. "You said that she didn't want to look good, therefore insinuating, of course, that she didn't look good."

Ron opened his mouth in surprise. "Oh!"

The twins nodded and pulled him up. "Now go apologize. The quicker the better," George advised.

Ron ran up the stairs, shaking his head. _Honestly, females were so crazy and sensitive._ Reaching Hermione's room, he knocked gently.

"Go away!" she screamed back.

"Hermione," he laughed nervously. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean it like that, I swear."

There was silence from inside the room.

_Good,_ he thought. _No screaming_.

"And, I wanted you to know that I don't think you look bad. Really. I meant it when I said that you were... erm... beautiful," he said quickly, turning red as he said so. He stood there for a few minutes, wondering if Hermione had died in there or something.

Finally, her door opened, and this time, the teary-eyed Hermione didn't look quite as vengeful. "Oh Ron," she sniffled, leaping onto him and stifling him in a hug. "You can be such an idiot."

"Erm, thank you," he replied uncomfortably, cautiously patting her back. "Want to go eat lunch now?" He asked a bit desperately, trying to maneuver her down the stairs.

"Oh why," Hermione pulled away from him, looking a bit flustered, but still beaming. "Of course!"

And with that she bounded down the stairs ahead of him, calling over her shoulder, "I'm absolutely famished! Do you want a sandwich? I'll make you one!"

Ron smiled to himself, then called back, "Oh yeah! Turkey please? I'm going to go, err, wash my hands, okay?"

Hermione's head popped out from behind the kitchen doorway. "Wash your hands?" She asked suspiciously, hands on her hips. "But you've never been concerned with sanitation in the least!"

He reddened, a little embarrassed at being caught in a lie, but persisted. "Well there was that one time you were telling me about that stuff, that bacter..." he faltered.

"Bacteria," Hermione prompted.

"Yeah that!" He nodded. "And, I just thought it sounded a bit dangerous..." he trailed off, hands in his pockets as he stared at the ground.

To his surprise, Hermione positively beamed at him. "Oh Ron! I knew you'd put that head of yours to work some day!" She ran up to him, gave him a quick hug and ran back into the kitchen before he could see the blush spread across her cheeks, or the silly smile on her face.

Ron shook his head in relief, then slowly made his way towards George and Fred's room. Ignoring the loud bangs coming from within, he pushed the door open to reveal his brothers crouched before a large cauldron, hooting as a huge explosion sprayed them with green muck.

"Hey guys?" Ron tried to get their attention.

George and Fred turned around, grinning. "Come to thank us, have you?"

"Yeah," Ron nodded, laughing sheepishly. "You guys really knew what was bothering her. How'd you learn to understand emotions like that?"

"Well," Fred leaned jauntily on the cauldron. "We're just ladies' men, we are."


	11. A Perfect Afternoon

**Thanks to all my reviewers! Well, here's another chapter; I'm not too happy with it, but it IS longer. It's kind of hard to write the romance... Haha. Thanks so much for supporting me on my first fic guys, you're awesome. **

**Alexandrea, thanks for your suggestion. It's in this chapter (yay!). **

**And I'm sorry if you think that Ron and Hermione are OOC, but it's going to be hard to fix them since I've already written so much about them. A drastic change in personality may be hard to do, but I'll try to fix them a little!**

**And for those of you who think that Ginny should ask Harry about You-Know-Who, I'm not sure if I'll have that, but if I do it'll be later and it'll be presented as a turning point, where Harry finally completely trusts Ginny. Okay? Okay. NOW READ, ENJOY, AND REVIEW. Thanks for all the suggestions guys. =)**

Harry and Ginny stopped at an ice cream parlor to escape from the mid- afternoon heat. Seating themselves comfortably in a booth, they sighed in relief at the temperature drop.

Harry nodded towards Ginny's ice cream cone. "It suits you."

She tilted her head, staring at him quizzically. "The ice cream?"

He shook his head. "Nah, ice cream suits everyone." He demonstrated by licking away at his chocolate scoop. "The strawberry," he said simply. "It suits you."

"Oh," she giggled, licking away at her cone. "Yeah, the red huh?" They sat in silence for a while, both thinking.

"Hey," Harry chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "Your parents are some crazy people huh? You whole family actually."

She stopped eating. "What do you mean?"

He smirked at her. "They said that you were mad about me, if I remember correctly."

Ginny blushed, and then tried to hide her embarrassment with a scowl. "Don't flatter yourself, Harry," she sniffed. "That was years ago. Mum just never stopped teasing me about it."

"Ahah!" He jumped up triumphantly.  
  
_That boy has an annoying habit of doing that_.

"So you did fancy me at one point!"

She groaned. _Really, she probably couldn't get any redder_. "Yes," she sighed. "Yes I did."

"When?"

_ Would he never stop asking?_ She looked down at the table, staring at her napkin as she told the lie. "First and second years, that was it."

"Oh." He sat back down and resumed eating his ice cream, unperturbed. Ginny however, was rather distracted as she licked at her ice cream absent- mindedly, her thoughts wandering to a certain black-haired, green-eyed boy sitting across from her.

"Hey Ginny?"

She looked up, flustered. "Huh?"

Harry smiled gently at her, his green eyes fixated on her cheek.

_What?_

"You've got a bit of ice cream on your face, Gin." He grabbed his napkin and reached across the table, softly wiping at her cheek. "There, you see?" He held up the napkin, now with a pink blotch on it for her to see.

"Thanks," she murmured, hoping that he didn't notice how red she had become. _Gods but that boy was sweet_.

After finishing their ice cream, they walked outside and were immediately hit by the heat. Sighing, Ginny pulled her hair up into a high ponytail, feeling the back of her neck become moist with perspiration.

"It's hot," Harry observed.

"You're a smart one," she muttered back sarcastically, the heat already getting on her nerves. She pulled irritably at the sleeve of her robe. _Darn, why'd I have to go and wear the long sleeved one today?_

"Let's try to stay indoors," Harry remarked in amusement, watching her at odds with her outfit. "Before you tear up that robe in revenge anyway."

She could only nod. The cool air in the ice cream parlor already seemed like years ago.

"Hey let's go in there!" Harry pointed at a nearby robe shop. He grinned at Ginny, who was still fidgeting with her robe. "You could buy something and change into it," he suggested.

She hesitated, biting her lip as she glanced down at her coin pouch. It was getting a bit light, and although she absolutely loved the robes in that shop, she wouldn't be able to afford one. She opened her mouth to protest, but Harry was already moving ahead.

"Come on!" he called.

Reluctantly, she ran to catch up to him.

"Hmm," Harry mumbled as he perused the many racks of robes. "These are... interesting." He chuckled, holding up a scandalous hot pink robe with a high slit and plunging neckline.

Ginny turned around to look and giggled. "Looks like something Millicent or Pansy would wear," she remarked.

Harry paled and quickly dropped the robe, while muttering weakly, "Think I'm going to be sick."

"I'm going to go try one on, okay?" Harry nodded absently, wandering over to a bench outside the dressing room.  
  
A few minutes later, Ginny's head popped out from behind the curtains.

"Don't be shy now," Harry persuaded. "Come out."

Biting her lip, Ginny stepped out slowly from behind the curtain. "I rather like it, I think," she whispered. She wore a simple, light green sleeveless robe that ended right at her knees. The light material floated around her as she turned, giving her an ethereal quality.

"What do you think Harry?"

Silence.

"Harry?"

"I, err..." he blushed deeply, running a hand through his hair. "It looks lovely, Gin."

She smiled. "Thanks!" she chirped, disappearing back into the dressing room. A few minutes later she emerged, once again clad in her own robe, and hung the green robe back up again.

"Wait... you're not going to get it?" She shook her head. "No, I..." she paused. "Well it didn't really suit me, I suppose."

He snorted in disbelief. "You said so yourself that you rather liked it."

"Hmm..." she mumbled in reply. "Well let's go then!" She pulled him outside before he could protest.

Once outside, she glanced at her watch. "It's almost four, Harry."

Harry nodded knowingly. "Your mum wants us back for dinner?"

"By six."

Ginny meandered over to a newsstand and began looking through magazines. The bright headlines, "Charm Your Hair!", "Learn How to Mix a Love Potion!", or "How to Make Eyes Pop- Literally!" made Harry feel a bit queasy.

"Hey, I'll be," he shrugged. "Over there." He motioned back to the Quidditch store.

Half an hour later, he came back to find Ginny standing by the newsstand and waiting for him, having already purchased a magazine.

"What do you have there?" she asked, motioning towards the package in his hands.

"Err..." he blushed slightly, then shoved the package at her. "Um... open it."

Surprised, Ginny sat down on a nearby bench and untied the twine holding the package together. "Oh..." she breathed softly, then looked up at Harry. "You really shouldn't have!" She held up her new robe, the exact one that she had tried on in the shop.

Harry stared at the ground, extremely nervous. "Oh... I... err..." he stuttered, finally managing to say, "I'm glad you like it."

She nodded, her cheeks flushed. Silently, he held his hand out to her, and she took it, blushing as he pulled her up.

"So shall we go back?" he asked, shifting nervously.

She simply nodded, and they walked down the street together, hands still clasped together.


	12. A PrankFilled Afternoon

**Thanks for the reviews guys! You rock. Well this one's a tad bit longer. Hopefully, that'll satisfy some people =). And just to let you know, it's definitely my favorite chapter thus far. So enjoy!**

**First off, if you guys didn't already know, Harry and Ginny are NOT together. It's all for show so they can get Ron and Hermione together.**

**Secondly, a lot of people have been complaining that I've made Ron way too stupid. I promise guys, that wasn't what I meant to do (I love Ron too!). But haven't you ever been around someone you really like, and for some reason, ONLY AROUND THEM, you do stupid things, say stupid things, altogether act stupider than you normally do? I know I have (most notably recently in an event that was... not so fun). Well so that's my explanation. Soon enough, Ron will get over his jitters when talking to Hermione. Alright. Cool. **

**So continue reviewing, or else (pouts) I'll stop writing. Or I'll just write and NOT post it up. (Muahaha, evil. KIDDING.)**

"Checkmate!" Ron grinned triumphantly, watching his pieces obliterate Hermione's in their fifth game of wizard's chess. "I win again!"

After lunch, Hermione had been in very good spirits, and to Ron's surprise, had agreed good-naturedly to a game of wizard's chess. Now however, she was slumped against the table, sighing in boredom.

"You're sure," she pressed, "Absolutely certain that you don't want to do anything else?" Ron, still basking in the glow of his fifth victory in a row, shook his head. And so, sighing again, Hermione resigned herself to yet another game.  
  
From the stairway, George and Fred stopped to watch their little brother completely immersed in his game.

"Poor Bookworm," George whispered.

Fred shook his head, muttering, "We've really got to help Ron out."

The two disappeared into their room, which became suspiciously quiet for a full half an hour.

Stopping momentarily in his game, Ron glanced uneasily at the stairs. "Fred and George are up to something, I can just feel it."

Hermione stared at him, shrugging her shoulders. "How would you know? It's rather quiet up there anyway. Perhaps they've decided to settle down."

Ron shook his head, chuckling nervously. Running his hand through his hair, he replied, "No. If they're no loud noises coming from their room, it usually means big trouble. One time for instance," he explained. "They were up there for three hours without making any noise. Well, my uncle James was supposed to come over for dinner, and when he didn't show up, Mum became a bit suspicious. Finally, she went out into the garden and found a man magically bound to a lawn chair. Of course, it turned out to be uncle James, who had sent dungbombs by owl to Fred and George, as a prank. They take after him, really. Well, Mum wasn't too pleased about it, but uncle James was a great sport about it, even asked them how they managed to outsmart him. Anyway," he finished. "That's why it's no good when that room goes quiet."

Hermione gulped, now too looking warily at the stairs. "You don't think they'd do anything like that to us, would they?"

Ron shrugged. "You never know. Those two are unpredictable."

Hermione nodded, not looking comforted at all. "Let's resume the game, then?" she asked, hoping to end the game and with a bit of luck, move onto something else.

Ron hesitated, still looking worriedly at the stairs. "Well," he said reluctantly, turning back to the game. "I suppose we should just wait to see what happens."

They continued their game, though both of them kept shooting glances towards the stairway.

A few minutes later, their fears were confirmed- a rustle from the stairway alerted their attention, and when they turned, they found themselves confronted with what they could only guess to be George and Fred dressed up as Cupids.

Ron blinked.

"What in the world are they doing?" a very disturbed Hermione hissed at Ron, blushing as she realized that George and Fred were clad only in sheets.

Ron shrugged his shoulders, his mouth slightly parted in shock.

"Well," Fred began, fluttering his enchanted wings slightly. "We've come to help you two... how shall I put this?"

George continued for him. "We've come to help you realize your affections for each other."

"You've what?!" Both Ron and Hermione shrieked in unison, blushing deeply.  
  
The twins nodded, then each pulled out a roll of parchment. "We'll read to you the signs of love that you each display," Fred explained.  
  
Hermione gasped.

Ron sputtered, turning red.

George cleared his throat. "Number one: Hermione yells at Ron more than she yells at anyone else, clearly displaying that she worries about him most."

Both Hermione and Ron snorted.

"She can be downright brutal to me!" Ron protested.

Fred and George seemed undeterred.

Fred continued down the list. "Number two: Ron asks for help from Hermione the most."

"He values her judgment!" George sighed dramatically. "How romantic!"

"Only on homework!" Hermione complained.

"Number three: Hermione gets even more violent than usual whenever Ron talks about other girls."

Hermione whimpered. "Not... It's not..." she wavered. "I don't!"

"Number four: Ron turns as red as a tomato whenever Hermione so much as touches his hand."

Ron reddened, muttering something about killing the twins under his breath.

"See?" Fred gestured towards Ron's face. "It's true!"

George coughed. "Finally, number five: Both Ron and Hermione complain about each other incessantly."

"You think about each other quite a bit," Fred added, winking at the two mortified teenagers.

"Well," the twins rolled up their parchment, and then ran up the stairs. "We'll leave you two alone now!" They shouted, running off before Ron and Hermione could react.

Ron and Hermione sat, staring at each other.

Finally, Ron let out a shaky laugh, muttering, "Well... that was... err..."

"Absolutely horrific," Hermione finished, burying her face in her hands.

"None of it true, of course," Ron added quickly, turning even redder.

"No, of course not," Hermione agreed, perhaps a little bit too quickly. "But," she blushed. "It was terribly humiliating, wasn't it?"

Ron nodded in agreement, and they sat there for some time, still in shock.

"Well," Ron said grimly, breaking the silence. "You know what we have to do, don't you?"

"What?"

"Get revenge."

"Oh Ron!" Hermione exclaimed with an evil glint in her eye. "You're brilliant! I've got the greatest idea; I came across it while reading the potions book this morning. Now, could you go and whip up a pitcher of lemonade, perhaps?"

He nodded, watching her disappear up the stairs. When Hermione came up with ideas like this, it was best to humor her, as he had learned through her whole craze with SPEW. Walking to the cupboard, he pulled out a glass pitcher and began to make lemonade. From upstairs, he could hear a clang as Hermione dragged her cauldron out, and then occasional fizzes, which he assumed to be her dropping ingredients into whatever potion she was creating.

Half an hour later, Hermione skipped down the stairs to find Ron sitting at the kitchen table with a pitcher full of ice-cold, tempting lemonade. In her hand was a small vial containing clear liquid.

Ron eyed it suspiciously. "What's that?" he asked, watching her excitedly pour the vial into the pitcher.

"Here, mix it up," she commanded, and he obeyed, still looking at her questioningly.

"So," he asked again while stirring the lemonade. "What's this supposed to do?"

Hermione poked her head out from behind a cupboard, where she was rummaging around. "Ahah!" she grinned, holding up two glasses and running over to set them by the pitcher of lemonade. "I'll tell you later," she whispered mysteriously.

Motioning for him to follow, she crept into the pantry to hide.

Inside, they peeked out at the kitchen. Soon enough, Fred and George came downstairs, exhausted and dehydrated from a day of successful pranks.

"Did you see the looks on their faces?" Fred chortled.

Hermione twitched.

George nodded, chuckling. "Those two are great fun to embarrass."

Ron hissed through his teeth and was promptly elbowed by Hermione.

Still laughing, the twins filled the glasses on the table with lemonade and took long swigs, and sighing contentedly, disappeared back upstairs.

Cautiously, Ron and Hermione emerged from the pantry, Hermione red in the face from trying not to laugh.

"So tell me what that does now," Ron prodded.

"Well," she smiled mischievously, "They're going to have pretty sore bottoms for the next few hours. Their bottoms are, at the moment, bursting out in painful sores. They'll be gone by bedtime of course," she reassured. "But dinner should be an interesting affair."

Ron burst into laughter, shaking his head. "If I had known I'd be learning stuff like this, I'd have read through the potions book ages ago!"


	13. So Tell Me About It

**Okay, time to thank my spiffy reviewers! Thanks to Leoking for your suggestion, I'm going to try to mention you guys at the beginning of each chapter now, okay? I apologize for not doing this sooner, I really didn't know =(. But now I'll start doing it. **

**Thank you so much to my regular (I guess that's what you call it?) reviewers: Me the infamous, VioletGinni122094, Kachie Crista, Paige, lightprincess (who was one of the many who told me to make my chapters longer- thanks for the advice all!), Chantal J, Alexandrea, VoicezWithin, Nightwing 509, and kingmaker!  
**  
**If I forgot anyone- I apologize. I couldn't put in everyone's who reviewed because well, that would take me a while. Well, thanks to YOU guys too though, you totally rock. I'll start answering your reviews by chapter after this next chapter. Okay? Cool. I'm glad you liked the last chapter- I'll try to put out more soon. So here's the next chapter, not my favorite, but still, enjoy!**

Dinner at the Weasley household that night was a strange affair. With the exception of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, who obliviously carried on with their usual dinnertime conversation, everyone else was acting rather strange:

Harry was in an extremely jovial mood, and would flash a dazzling smile at every comment, including, "Pass the salt, will you?"

Ginny gazed off dreamily throughout dinner, blushing whenever anyone tried to snap her out of her reverie. Of course, the Weasley family found nothing unusual about this, since they all believed that Ginny was dating Harry anyway.

George and Fred had insisted on eating standing up, and were, for some reason, very moody. From time to time, they would cast dark glances at Ron and Hermione.

Ron and Hermione, on the other hand, were in high spirits, bursting into chuckles over nothing and returning George and Fred's glances with smirks.

"So Ginny, how was your date?" Hermione asked between mouthfuls of food.

"Hmm?" Ginny's head snapped up. "...What?"

Harry nudged her. "Yeah Ginny, our 'date'," he reminded her.

"Oh, that!" She smiled brilliantly at Hermione. "It was absolutely wonderful! Harry here was the sweetest thing!"

Harry blushed.

"And we had a lovely time just walking around town," her eyes sparkled as she recounted the day. "We had lunch at that café in town, Mum," she giggled. "The one you swore you'd never return to?"

Mrs. Weasley shuddered, groaning. "Oh dear, I think that was, quite possibly, the most humiliating experience of my life!" she turned to her daughter. "But darling, tell me, what else did you do?"

"Well," she put down her utensils, "Harry bought me this robe that was just divine. I'll wear it tomorrow. It's perfect, Mum."

Harry ran a hand through his hair, hoping no one would notice his burning cheeks.

"That's so sweet," Hermione sighed.

"Well," Ginny snuck a meaningful glance at Harry. "How was staying at home with Ron, then?"

Harry grinned, turning to Ron. "Yeah mate, how was it?"

Both Ron and Hermione smirked, chorusing together, "It was splendid."

"Really," Ginny asked hopefully. "How so?"

"We," Ron smiled secretively. "Studied potions."

Ginny and Harry looked confused, but Ron and Hermione simply smiled, refusing to give a clear explanation.

That night, Ginny and Hermione had a gossip filled session in Ginny's room.  
  
"So," Ginny prompted, flouncing onto the bed. "How was your day with Ron?"

Hermione giggled, sitting cross-legged on the ground. "Well, he was an absolute git in the beginning."

"In the beginning, you say," Ginny smirked, giving her a knowing look. "What happened to change that?"

Blushing, Hermione fidgeted with the edge of Ginny's pillow for a few seconds, then looked up, eyes shining as she whispered, "He called me beautiful..."

Ginny squealed, jumping up and clapping her hands delightedly. "I knew it! I knew you fancied each other!" she laughed.

She continued jumping up and down, observing that though Hermione definitely blushed, she made no denial whatsoever. Finally Hermione muttered, "...So maybe I like him a bit," she stared pointedly at the ground, refusing to look up at Ginny.

"Well," Ginny scrambled onto the floor and began rummaging through the mess under her bed. "I got something for you today."

Hermione looked up, curious. "What?"

Whipping out the Chudley Cannons poster, Ginny rushed over to Hermione's side. "Look!" she grinned, brandishing the roll.

Uncertainly, Hermione reached out for the roll and untied the ribbon holding it together. On seeing what it was, she snorted. "I think this is Ron's present, not mine," she stated, handing it back.

Ginny however, pushed it back to her. "Precisely," she stated superiorly. "You are going to give that to Ron, of course. As a sign of your affection."

Hermione mumbled, "What is it with you Weasleys and that phrase?"

"What?"

Hermione sighed, rolling the poster back up. "Fred and George ermm... tried to play matchmaker with Ron and I this afternoon."

"Fred? George?" Ginny asked in disbelief.

"Yes," Hermione reddened, "It's funny now, but gods Ginny, it was the most mortifying thing in the world. They dressed up as Cupids and, get this, read from a list of signs of affection that Ron and I displayed for each other."

Ginny burst into laughter, tears running down her cheek as she rolled back and forth on the floor. "Oh," she gasped out. "Only George and Fred would do something like that."

Hermione nodded, blushing a little, but on seeing Ginny absolutely hysterical, she began to laugh too.

After they settled down, Ginny confronted Hermione again, this time in a serious tone. "So Hermione, you'll give it to him, won't you?"  
  
Hermione sighed in reply, finally uttering, "Well, I suppose I could."

"And don't tell him it's from me," Ginny added. "It's supposed to be a gift from you, to, you know, add a little fuel to that fire." She winked suggestively, laughing when Hermione glared at her in reply.

Meanwhile, Harry was going through the same thing with Ron.

"So mate, did you, you know, tell Hermione how you felt?"

Ron began to nod, then stopped. "Well, kind of," he replied.

Harry looked at him questioningly. "What do you mean, 'kind of'? You either told her that you fancy her or you didn't."

Ron reddened a little, looking sheepish as he admitted, "Well I told her I thought she was beautiful, but err... couldn't really bring myself to say much more. Especially after George and Fred's stunt."

Harry nodded sympathetically, having already had the whole story recounted to him. "Well," he announced, pulling a package out from behind him, "I've got something that might improve relations between you and Hermione."

Ron took the package and unwrapping it, saw the book. "Ugh," he wrinkled his nose, reading the back cover. "What is this?"

Harry shrugged. "Some romance novel I think. Ginny said that Hermione would like it," he scratched the back of his head thoughtfully. "And I reckon she's right, although I don't know why anyone would want to read that."

Wrapping the book back up, Ron shuddered. "Well," he sighed in resignation. "If it makes her happy, I suppose I'll give it to her. But if she hates it," he gave Harry a warning look. "You're really in for it, mate."

Harry laughed nervously, holding his hands up. "Hey, your sister bought it, not me."

Ron turned, grinning. "Oh yeah, I forgot to ask you. How was your date with Ginny?"

He smirked, watching Harry blush as he muttered, "Err... She was very pretty."

"Since when have you fancied my sister, anyway?" Ron inquired, punching Harry's arm playfully. "You should've told me sooner!"

Harry struggled, fishing for a story. "I've fancied her for... for years, mate!" he nodded, sighing dramatically. "I was always too shy to tell anyone, but I think I've been madly in love with her since the moment I set eyes on her!"

Silence.

Harry mentally slapped himself. _For heavens sake, he sounded like a soap opera character, and a bad one at that! _

Ron eyed Harry suspiciously. "What about when you fancied Cho?"

"Well," Harry paused, finally cracking a grin as he came up with an answer. "I liked them both at the same time... They're very different but both equally attractive."

Ron snorted, then glared at Harry warningly. "Well, I hope you're over Cho now, because if you dare hurt my little sister, I'll kill you. I don't care if you're my friend, I will!"

Harry gulped, paling. Smiling wanly, he nodded. "Of course Ron..."

Ron continued, "And you'd better not dump her, no matter how miserable you are."

_Dump the imaginary girlfriend I have, you mean?_ Harry thought. "Of course not Ron..." he said again.

"And you can't breakup 'mutually', because that'd probably end up being some cover up. If Gin wants to dump you though," Ron said, mentioning his little sister fondly. "Then she can go ahead. Okay?"

Harry nodded, remembering that Ginny did have four other brothers (Percy didn't count) who would kindly pummel him to the ground if their 'relationship' mysteriously ended, or word got out that he had used 'dating' her as an excuse.

_I'm dead._


	14. A Walk in the Park

**I'm sorry you guys, but I have LOTS of family coming over tomorrow for the next week because three (yes three) of my cousins are graduating in the space of two days. So, the chances of me actually having the time to update are... well a bit slim. I'll try to get back to you guys ASAP (say, Tuesday maybe?), but well, we'll have to see. Sorry guys. So anyway, thank you so much to my reviewers! You guys totally rock, PLEASE KEEP ON REVIEWING GUYS. I want more. (Muahahha, yes the schoolgirl is greedy) **

**Anyways: **

**Nightwing- Thanks for keeping up with my story! I'm glad you like it, and lookie, here's the next chapter for you to read! =) **

**Kingmaker- Yes, thanks to your review, Harry and Ginny have been found out. Now the hoards of people hoping for the scheme to continue will come after you and skin you alive =). **

**Ronnies gurl- I'm glad you like how the story's progressing (though I'm not sure what direction this whole thing is moving in either). Thanks and keep on reviewing! **

**Leoking- My new biography is up, so go read it! Anyway, thanks for following my fic, and you BETTER review. Come now; let's be at least a bit productive this summer. **

**Alexandrea- As always, you rock! Thanks for reviewing my story thus far, and I'm glad you find it believable. **

**A Harry and Ginny Dreamer- Hah! I'm not going to tell you whether or not Harry's getting a kiss for two reasons: 1) I have no idea (I'm sorry but it's true), and 2) Let's make it a pleasant surprise when it does happen, okay? Well thanks for the reviews, and I hope you like this next chapter. **

**WhyDoYouCare36- Glad you like it! I have written more and here it is! =) **

**Lightprincess- Thanks for reviewing my story! Hopefully, this chapter (which is a tad bit longer) should satisfy you. **

**JamieBell- I'm glad you think my story's cute =). Thanks for the suggestions... I tried to incorporate a bit more detail into this chapter, but as I didn't read your review until I was almost done with it, the next chapter will probably be more to your liking.  
  
Okay, now that we're done with that- READ READ READ! Oh and if you don't review, I may not ever come back. Kidding of course, but still. Reviews encourage me to actually write, so don't forget after you read to REVIEW. Thanks!**  
  
The next morning, Ginny happily flounced downstairs in her new robe, delighted with the "oohs" and "Oh goodness Ginny, you're so lovely!" that Mrs. Weasley and Hermione uttered when they saw her.

Harry looked up from his breakfast, calling out shyly, "You look good, Ginny."

"Thanks," she blushed, sitting down next to him. "It was really nice of you to buy me the robe, Harry," she whispered, reaching over for some toast.

"No problem," he muttered back, reaching over to hand her the jam.

"Thanks," she said again, surprised. She smiled at him, eyes sparkling as she took the jar from him.

Across the table, George and Fred (who had, instead of glaring at Hermione and Ron, begun to smile at them all too innocently) nudged each other, noting Harry's behavior towards their little sister. Ron too was observing the two, although not as much as the twins were. Hermione, chatting away beside him, kept him occupied for the most part.

On noticing the attention that he was receiving from the male members of the Weasley family, Harry gulped nervously.

"Harry? You alright?" Ginny asked, looking rather concerned. "You look a bit pale."

He laughed weakly. "I'm fine."

"Okay," she smiled, completely oblivious to how her brothers were looking out for her. "Anyway, I thought that I could, you know, repay you for the robe."

Harry opened his mouth to protest, but she cut him off.

"No really Harry, I feel bad. I don't have the galleons to pay you back with money," she looked a bit embarrassed at this, "But Mum packed us a picnic lunch, and I thought we'd spend some time together this afternoon, you know," she lowered her voice to a whisper, "Give Hermione and Ron some alone time."

Harry snickered. "Sounds great," he smiled.

Hermione reached out for a piece of toast, but hesistated when George offered her a slice. "Would you like some?" he asked, smiling innocently.

"No," she shook her head, looking worriedly at Ron.

"Well Fred, offer her some milk then!" Mrs. Weasley chided her son.

Fred too smiled, holding out the pitcher for Hermione. Leaning over, he whispered to her, "Does this look familiar to you?"

She eyed the glass pitcher, biting her lip guiltily. "No thank you Fred," she said, smiling weakly in Mrs. Weasley's direction. "I'm alright."

Ron too regarded the food warily. "I think... I'm not hungry any longer."

"So," Mrs. Weasley announced, beaming. "Harry and Ginny are spending more time together today-"

They both blushed at this.

"-So I've arranged for George, Fred, Ron and Hermione are going to spend the day together again while I go to visit your great-aunt Wilma."

The twins began to smile all-too-innocently. "Sounds lovely, Mum!" Fred exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Yeah," George agreed. "We'll watch those two for you!"

Ron and Hermione exchanged horrified glances.

"No Mrs. Weasley!" Hermione tried, somewhat desperately. "I can-"

Ron coughed.

"I mean Ron and I," she quickly amended, casting Ron a guilty glance. "Can come with Harry and Ginny, can't we?" She looked pleadingly at Harry and Ginny.

Harry opened his mouth to protest, but Ginny cut him short, sighing. "Well," she said rather reluctantly. "I suppose you can. It can be like a double-date," she remarked emphasizing the 'date'.

Hermione appeared flustered and Ron reddened, both mumbling, "Well... not a date."

"Yes mate," Harry said, not sounding enthusiastic at all. "Come along with us."

"Harry," Ginny hissed, pulling him aside. "This is the best we can do... If anything, they'll start to see it as a double-date."

"Yeah," Harry replied, blushing as he realized that he had been looking forward to spending time alone with Ginny again. "But you know," he ran a hand through his unruly hair. "It would've been better for them to be alone."

"Well," she pursed her lips together thoughtfully. "It might be better to have them around us rather than the twins," she rolled her eyes. "I mean, the twins do mean well, but their last attempt at matchmaking was... well... not very appreciated."

"It did bring Hermione and Ron closer together though," Harry grinned mischievously.

"For revenge!" Ginny protested. "I mean, I'm not saying that it was a bad thing, it certainly worked out to our advantage, but if we leave them here with Fred and George," she glanced at the twins, hissing, "They'll be killed!"

"Fine."

As soon as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley left the house, Ginny, Harry, Ron and Hermione shot out after them, turning back to yell a quick, "Bye!" to the twins.

A short, twenty-minute walk later, they found themselves at a small park with witches and wizards wandering about aimlessly, as well as a playground that was unlike any that Harry had ever seen. Little witches and wizards scrambled out of the small cottage, which seemed like it could, at most, hold perhaps two children. Yet after the first 20 children crawled out, Harry began to suspect that the cottage was enchanted. Also, there were children whizzing by on their toy brooms, as well as little play structures covered with moving pictures that would emit sparks or loud bangs from time to time.

"Wow," Harry muttered.

"Over here Harry!" Ginny motioned, already having run ahead with Hermione and Ron.

They settled down on the fresh grass, Ginny happily smoothing out her robe as she listened to Hermione and Ron chatter away, still triumphant over their prank from the day before, but a little worried about what the twins would try to pull.

"What do you think they'll do?" Hermione asked, biting her lip.

"I don't know," Ron muttered rather darkly. "But it won't be good."

Ginny looked up, eyes meeting Harry's as they exchanged shy smiles.

"Ginny, would you like to take a walk with me, then?" Hermione interrupted their 'moment.'

"Sure," Ginny replied, quickly getting up. "We'll be back later!" she told Harry and Ron as she and Hermione walked off together.

Harry shot Hermione's back a resentful glare.

To pass the time, Harry and Ron sat and concocted up plans for pranks to play against the twins in retaliation for their prank, which was sure to come. Most of the ideas were ridiculous, but the boys had a good time laughing together and trying to outdo the other's suggestions.

"I know!" Ron shouted. "We could put a man-eating plant in their bedroom!"

Harry countered. "No, mine is better! We'll put Snape in a bikini and leave him in their bedroom!"

Ron looked aghast. "Mate," he said rather weakly, looking a little traumatized. "That's just wrong! You have no idea how horrific the picture in my mind is right now."

Both boys looked at each other for a moment and shuddered.

"I suppose you're right," Harry admitted, looking a bit horrified himself. "I just thought about it now, and well... it's not a lovely image."

"Yeah," Ron nodded. "Just don't ever say anything like that again."

"So," Harry said, desperate to rid himself of this new mental image. "How are you?"

"Feeling a bit sick."

"Oh. You still see it?"

Ron nodded in assent. "Yeah, and terrifyingly enough, it's getting more detailed. Get this- Snape in a pink and white polka dotted bikini, lounging seductively on Fred's bed."

Harry yelped, covering his ears. "God Ron! I didn't need to hear that!"

"Well you started it," Ron muttered, still looking very nauseous.

A few minutes later, Ginny and Hermione strolled back to where the boys were.

"Goodness. You both look rather pale," Ginny remarked in surprise.

"You're not ill, are you?" Hermione asked worriedly, coming over to sit by Ron.

Both Ron and Harry shook their heads.

Harry managed a weak smile. "We're fine."

"Yeah," Ron echoed faintly. "Just fine."

"Okay, if you're sure," Ginny looked a bit uncertain.

"Well let's eat then," Hermione began unpacking the basket. They settled down to eat, all munching away.

Once Ron had recovered from the imaginary Snape, he and Hermione talked animatedly throughout the meal, apparently still glowing from their "victory" over the twins the day before.

Yet Harry and Ginny sat side by side in a rather awkward conversation.

"So yesterday was fun," Harry remarked.

"Yes," Ginny nodded. "I had a good time."

"On your date?" Hermione cut in.

Harry and Ginny exchanged nervous glances for a moment, both nodding as they blushed profusely.

"Yeah," Harry replied. "We were talking about... our date."

Ginny idly fidgeted with her robe, blushing as she stared at the ground.

"You know," Ron commented, looking a little suspicious. "You two really don't act like a couple."

Harry paled.

Ginny giggled nervously.

"Oh Ron," she said, her voice a bit more high pitched than usual. "Don't be silly. Of course we do."

"Yeah," Harry echoed, blushing again. "Of course."

"I mean it's obvious you fancy each other and all-" Hermione added.

Harry and Ginny blushed, starting to shake their heads, then seemed to remember and stopped, looking a bit guilty.

"See!" Hermione pointed out in exasperation. "You even deny THAT."

"Come on now, guys," Ron persuaded. "Tell us what's really going on."

Harry cleared his throat and glanced sideways at Ginny, who was currently staring in mortification at the ground, her cheeks a bright pink, then at Hermione and Ron's inquisitive stares. Finally he sighed, "Well," he remarked, "I suppose we have a bit of explaining to do."


	15. Let's Run Off Together

**Surprisingly enough, I was able to sneak off while my relatives were over to write- ta da- a fair lengthed chapter that I'm pretty happy about. =) Still no confessions of love (Sigh I know, it's sad), but I hope you'll like the playground scene, because I sure did. Actually, I was playing at the playground with my mom's second grade class today, and it completely inspired me. God I love swing sets. Anyway, YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME. Reaching 100 reviews?! I never would've thought it possible, but you guys rock! =) You made me incredibly happy- one of the reasons why I was actually able to finish this chapter early. Keep it up. **

**So thank you thank you thank you!**

**WhyDoYouCare36- Hehe, I've updated! Now you can review. =)**

**Kingmaker- Okay, I apologize to ALL for the Snape thing in the last chapter. I understand that I should've put a warning up as to prevent the many psychologically harmed individuals who read that chapter. I am very sorry. Okay? And please don't lynch me- then I wouldn't be able to update. Oh, and no frightening images in this chapter. I promise. **

**JamieBell- Yeah, well the playground was written for you! Because you told me to be more detailed. Spiffy what an influence you have over me, huh? Well thanks for reviewing; you rock. **

**Leoking- Why thank you for reviewing my chapter and reading my bio! You're such an awesome reviewer =). Anyway, hope you like this next chapter. Ginny and Harry are getting more comfortable with each other- awww... Thanks for reviewing again- I always look forward to your reviews. **

**VoicezWithin- Yeah they got caught! But here's what happens next- Yay Harry and Ginny! =)**

**Ronnies Gurl- Glad you thought that last chapter was funny... Hehe, a lot of people actually found the Snape thing disturbing. Oh well, thanks for reviewing, and hey! More Harry and Ginny- This is going to be fun.**

**Nightwing 509- Here's more! Glad you're enjoying the story- Please continue reviewing!**

**BrownPryde- Here's the next chapter! Now let's have you be the judge of how good of an excuse Harry and Ginny came up with. Hope you like it, and keep up the reviews. =)**

**Chantal J- Yay, here it is, the new chapter. Hope you like it. =)**

**Alexandrea- No of course the story isn't ending! Oh my goodness, that would kill me. I'm still lovin' this storyline, and hopefully continuing it for some time- at least a few more chapters. Well, when I say "a few", you know I mean like 5 or something. But still, glad you like the chapter! And here's more! **

**Lightprincess- Thanks! My cousins are cool... so it isn't too bad. It's the three hour graduation ceremonies that suck. Anyways, I'm NOT evil because I did come back to update early. Haha, hope you like this chapter. Lookie, it's not too short =P. **

**Sabrina- Glad you're liking the story! You're a new reviewer right? Well, here's the new chapter, and thanks for taking the time to read and review my story. You rock. =)**

**Well, go off and read the new chapter now, guys. There may not be another for a couple days... But read and review! **

"... So that's why we did it."

Harry and Ginny sat apprehensively, waiting for Hermione and Ron's reactions. Of course in their very awkward explanation, they had skimmed over a _few_ details, but they both reasoned that it wasn't really lying. It just wasn't telling the complete truth. Like, for instance, telling Hermione and Ron that they had pretended to date so that the two would learn to get along and stop fighting- that _had _all been part of their plan. It just wasn't the whole plan.

"Wow," Ron finally muttered. "I never knew our arguing bothered you so much."

"Yeah," Hermione sighed, looking a bit guilty. "If it bothered you enough so that you would fake a relationship just in order to get us to stop, well, we must have driven you mad!"

Ginny and Harry nodded, looking for all the world like the poor, suffering friends that they had made themselves out to be.

"Yes," Harry sighed rather dramatically, running a hand through his hair as he cast disappointed glances at Ron and Hermione. "We were so desperate, you know."

"All that bickering!" Ginny, who happened to be a much better actor than Harry, added. She buried her face in her hands, her voice breaking as she stammered out, "We didn't know what else to do! I mean, you're both so dear to us!"

Harry reached over and patted her on the back awkwardly. Even if this was all for show, her broken voice still made him want to comfort her. "It's alright Ginny," he said, looking upwards and sighing again, making himself look like the martyr here. _The key_, he decided, _was to make sure that he and Ginny looked like the victims, not the other way around_.

Ginny started sniffling, her face still covered.

"Oh look what we've done now!" Hermione cried guiltily as she rushed over to comfort Ginny. "Oh Ginny, Harry, I'm so sorry. I promise I won't yell at Ron so much anymore."

"Yeah," Ron sat, fidgeting nervously. "I'm, I'm sorry too. We won't argue anymore, honest Ginny," he said soothingly. "We'll try very hard."

"Yes we will," Hermione whispered to Ginny. "Oh don't cry!"

"I can't," Ginny gasped, shuddering. "I'm sorry," she finally looked up, her face, amazingly enough, slightly damp from tears, her eyes shining. "I just get," she closed her eyes, a single tear escaping. "I just get very emotional."

By this time, Ron and Hermione looked absolutely frantic with worry, and were pleading and bribing Ginny with everything they could think of. Harry had to admit- her performance was quite impressive. He himself felt his heart ache slightly for her supposed misery, until he reminded himself that she was merely acting, of course. Still though, he found himself slightly off to the side, watching her nervously with his fingers stuffed into his pockets, biting his lower lip in apprehension.

Ginny resisted the urge to giggle, concentrating on sighing deeply and letting the occasional tear fall. She looked up at Ron and Hermione, their worried faces hovering about her. Glancing over to the side, she saw Harry, looking a bit anxious himself. Quickly, while the other two weren't looking, she winked at him reassuringly, then buried her face in her hands again, letting out a soft sob.

"Oy Harry, come help!" Ron called out to him, crouched helplessly by his little sister. "She just won't stop crying!"

Harry tried to wipe the grin off his face- _Ginny Weasley had winked at him_! Not in a suggestive manner, _but hey, a guy could dream_. He walked over and sat down by Ginny, a bit unsure of how to 'comfort' her. "Hey," he spoke softly, trying not to laugh as she continued to whimper. "It's okay Gin." Surprising himself, he awkwardly pulled her into a hug, ignoring the curious stares from Ron and Hermione as he blushed profusely.

Immediately, Ginny's whimpers subsided, and she curled into his embrace. _Warm. Harry. Yum._ She looked up shyly, smiling softly.

Ron and Hermione were immediately at ease, chuckling.

"Well," Hermione commented. "That definitely calmed her down."

Harry and Ginny looked at each other for a moment, speechless, then scrambled away from each other, blushing and stuttering.

"Sorry-" Harry muttered, staring at the grass.

"Oh no, I'm sorry-" Ginny did likewise, her eyes fixated on the fresh green blades of grass which were suddenly an oh-so-popular focal point.

Ron snickered.

Hermione giggled, covering her hand with her mouth.

"So I guess you two aren't together!" Ron advanced on Harry with a slightly menacing smile. "Then what was all that you told me last night, hmm, mate?!" He poked Harry.

"Err..." Harry looked around wildly for an escape route. _Yes_! He thought._ I will go hijack a toy broom from one of the children playing over on the other side of the park and zoom off. There's no way anything could go wrong!_

"Huh Harry, huh?!" Ron poked him again, this time harder. He grinned maniacally, apparently relishing abusing this newfound power that he possessed.

_Oh who am I kidding. I'm doomed._

Hermione on the other hand, was attacking Ginny. "Enjoy your 'date' yesterday, Ginny?" Ginny blushed, unintentionally copying Harry as she too gazed about desperately, avoiding eye contact with well, anyone.

"Um..." she bit her lip, stalling.

"Well?" Hermione asked, puffing up as she stood, hands on hips, tapping one foot impatiently with a superior smirk on her face.

_Goodness but that girl could be frightening_, Ginny thought frantically. _Intimidating! Downright scary_!

She ventured a glance in Harry's direction and saw that he too had the look of a trapped animal on his face. Suddenly he turned towards her, both blushing as they made eye contact.

"-Said something about really fancying Ginny..." Ron continued with his torture.

"Buying each other gifts- this setup was just an excuse to disappear together..." Hermione ranted.

"-Mad about each other..."

"-Blushing every moment..."

"-Daydreaming..."

Ginny and Harry made eye contact again, both nodding quickly as they silently agreed. One... Two... Three... RUN!

They shot up, running as fast as their legs would carry them, ignoring Hermione and Ron's surprised yelps. Ginny ran, the breeze rushing through her hair as she struggled to keep up with Harry's long strides. She could hear Hermione and Ron yelling faintly now- and she pushed herself forward.

Finally, Harry stopped at the playground and settled down behind the little cottage. Panting, he patted the space next to him. She sat down, finding comfort in being far away from Ron and Hermione, not to mention out of sight.

"That was-" Harry panted, his face red- from running or embarrassment, she wasn't sure. "Horrible."

"Yes," she agreed, burying her face in her hands. "Oh god. Horrible."

They sat there for several minutes in mortified silence, which was finally broken by Harry's low chuckle.

"Well," he looked over at Ginny, whose head shot up the moment he said it, her eyes looking into his inquisitively.

"I think that Hermione and Ron were more embarrassed than we were- I mean, at least we didn't have George and Fred attack us."

She giggled, the blush disappearing from her face as she fell into easy conversation with him. "Yeah, they're pros at humiliation," she shook her head, laughing. "I guess it's only fair that we get our share too."

Harry stood up, brushing himself off, then extended a hand to her, smiling. "Well now that we're here," he waved at the playground, filled with little witches and wizards half their size. "We might as well play."

Putting her hand in his, Ginny giggled at Harry as he pulled her up. "Yes I suppose," she replied, swatting his arm playfully in a way that Harry, for some strange reason, found absolutely charming. He gulped as she placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling up at him. "Harry..." she whispered softly.

He stood, hands jammed in his pockets as he stared wide-eyed at her.

"-Tag, you're it!" She ran off, giggling madly.

"Hey, no fair!" Harry protested, running after her, trying not to blush. _What was I hoping for_?

She shrieked as he caught up to her, lithely climbing up the ladder of one of the play structures.

"No!" she grabbed one of the play wands from the wall, aiming it at Harry. "Get back or I'll hex you!"

"Really?" Harry gasped, pretending to be afraid. "How so?"

He ran towards her again, and she flicked the wand from it, both of them bursting into laughter as a burst of sparkly confetti hit him squarely in the chest.

"Absolutely horrifying," he commented dryly, wiping the confetti from his shirt.

"I know," she grinned, still pointing the wand at him. "I'm just such a talented witch like that! I do hope," she asked with mock concern. "That I didn't hurt you too much?"

"Oh I'm severely wounded, I'm sure."

She giggled, letting the wand drop momentarily, and he took advantage of this. Lunging at her, he grabbed the wand and tossed it back at the wall, where it magically reattached itself.

"Hah!" he cried out triumphantly, grabbing her and spinning her around. She squealed delightedly, beating him with her fists half-heartedly as she whirled about in the air.

"Harry Potter!" she cried out, trying to sound angry but failing miserably. "You put me down right now!"

"No!" he replied stubbornly, finally setting her down to sit on the railing, his hands still on her waist. "I'm not letting go without a fight."

She gently shoved him away from her, giggling as he pretended to stumble backwards and fall on his back. "See?" she declared, hopping down from the railing and standing over him haughtily. "You completely underestimated me."

"I suppose," he sighed in resignation, propping himself up on his elbows. "That I lost."

"Yes you did," she answered, settling down on the ground next to him. "But," she smiled, extending her hand towards him. "I'm still willing to be friends with a loser like you."

"Oh and for that I'm eternally grateful," he answered sarcastically, shaking her hand.

"As you very well should be," she leaned on him, sighing.

"Tired?" he grinned.

"Of course not!" she replied stubbornly, glaring at him. Then she grinned back, resting her head on his shoulder again. "Well... maybe a little."

Harry smiled, finding her dependence on him rather... endearing. They sat for some time in a comfortable silence; watching the people in the park walk back and forth, and in some instances, fly back and forth.

Suddenly, a little witch, no older than four, obstructed their view. She stood, hands on her hips, tapping one tiny foot in a way that was frighteningly similar to Hermione. Harry and Ginny started, looking up in surprise.

"You're too old to play here," she announced rather huffily, shaking her bangs from her face.

"Err..." Harry stared, not sure of what to say. "We're sorry?"

"You shouldn't be sitting there; you're in the way."

They scooted back, pressing themselves against the wall as they stared wide- eyed at the little girl. Harry ran a hand through his hair, chuckling nervously.

The girl critically examined Harry, her eyes flickering to his forehead. "You're Harry Pottah," she remarked, nodding at his scar.

"Yes, I am," Harry stared at her quizzically, still wondering whether he should be amused or frightened of the little girl. He glanced at Ginny, who was sitting, her eyes wide and her lips parted in shock.

The little girl held out a small, pudgy hand. "I'm Li-la," she enunciated. "Pleased to meet you. My mommy says that you, um..." she thought for a moment. "You hurted You-Know-Who and that's why you're famous."

He coughed. "That's... nice of her."

Lila noticed Ginny and turned towards her, asking accusingly, "Who are you?"

Ginny opened her mouth, then finally managed to utter, "I'm Ginny."

"Oh," Lila nodded. "Hi."

"Hi," Ginny replied, looking a bit dazed.

"Are you-" Lila glanced at both Harry and Ginny. "Harry Pottah's wife?"

Harry coughed again.

Ginny stared, her mouth opening and closing silently in horror.

Taking her silence as a yes, Lila nodded, commenting, "I thought so," and then sauntered off, calling over her shoulder loudly, "Goodbye Harry Pottah and his wife... um... Jenny!"

Harry and Ginny looked at each other for a moment, blushing, and then burst into laughter.

"Did you see how aggressive that girl was?" Harry chuckled.

"I think," Ginny giggled, "That in the humiliation department, that little girl might just outdo George and Fred."

"They'll be so disappointed," Harry leaned back against the wall, running a hand through his unruly hair.

"Yes I know- Imagine, being outdone by a preschooler." Ginny settled down, leaning against Harry again. _This is comfortable._ "So, what are we going to do about Ron and Hermione?"

He pulled back from her, grinning as he winked. "Well you know, now that they've joined in a common cause- to get us together that is, they should soon realize their undying love for each other."

She brushed a few strands of hair out of her eyes, pouting as she pulled him back towards her, then leaned on him again. "The things we do for them," she sighed. "Seriously, we'll probably have to endure tons of embarrassing matchmaking attempts now."

"The things I do for you!" Harry returned, pointing at his side. "What am I, your human pillow?"

She nodded, giving him a disapproving glare. "Well naturally," she elbowed him to prove her point. "And don't you ever forget it."

"We better be getting back to them," he stood up, smiling as she yelped, losing her balance. He pulled her up, grinning. "Ron and Hermione are going to... erm..." he lowered his voice. "Wonder what we've been up to."

Just as he had anticipated, Ginny blushed, and then smacked his arm a bit harder than usual. "No!" she cried, looking horrified.

He chuckled, rubbing his arm. "Well we wouldn't want that to happen."

"Yes," she replied, prancing ahead of him off of the play structure. She jumped, landing gracefully on the soft grass, then turned back to look at him, eyes twinkling. "I mean, currently, we're not together, right? And that's supposed to work to our advantage."

"Right," he replied, jumping down after her.

They walked across the expansive grass field that earlier, they had run across to escape torture by Hermione and Ron. The afternoon heat bore down on them, but dressed in her airy robe, Ginny was quite comfortable. She glanced sideways at Harry, who looked back, smiling at her.

"You know," he remarked, his green eyes sparkling. "I think our 'breakup' went well."

She snorted, rolling her eyes. "If you can call it that. But yes," she stopped for a moment, smiling up at him. "I had fun today."

Harry whistled softly, chuckling. "You know, Ginny," he grinned. "I think our 'relationship' might be the most complex I've ever heard of."


	16. Victim of Love

**Holy cow I love it when you guys review! =) Anyways, been having a pretty busy weekend. It's nice having the family here- the house seems so much more alive with over a dozen people sleeping well, everywhere. I'm glad the last chapter was well received, and although I really didn't like this chapter, keep in mind that I was writing it with very limited time, and on inadequate amounts of sleep. So anyway, here's the new chapter- read and review please!  
  
Thank you to my awesome reviewers! **

**Nightwing 509- Glad you like this story. Not too much going on in this chapter- no fluffiness (sigh), but oh well. Hope you like it anyway. **

**Teknocat- Glad you like this! Here is my new chapter- Have fun with it! =) And of course, Harry and Ginny forever. How else would it be? **

**Chantal J- Thanks for lovin' the last chapter! It was a bit hard to write a chapter as good as that one, so this one isn't nearly as satisfactory. But oh well, hope you like it anyway. **

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**Kingmaker- Thanks for reviewing! Yes, well hopefully Harry and Ginny will realize their feelings for each other soon- wouldn't that make everything so much easier? Anyway, glad you liked the last chapter- I don't think this one's as well written, but hey, I tried.**

** P.I.D.- Thanks! I'm so glad you like this story- hope this next chapter satisfies you! **

**Lightprincess- Actually, my cousin's graduation from dental school wasn't so bad- I suppose it's because I could hear. But my other cousin's high school graduation was long and outdoors, so not only could I not hear anything, I thought I was going to die of heatstroke. Anyway, glad you liked that last chapter and the little girl! Hopefully, this chapter, which is fairly long, should make you happy! **

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**A Harry and Ginny Dreamer- Oh my goodness, your review made me totally smile! I'm so flattered... You rock! Haha, well I've updated, and hopefully you'll like this chapter. As for the kiss- hmm... I don't know yet, but if they do kiss, I'm thinking that it'll be real (because that's way better). But that's just what I'm thinking of- don't take my word for it. Anyway, take care! **

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**So enjoy this chapter everyone... and of course, tell me what you think! Dangit, CLICK that review button. =D. I love you all. **  
  
Hermione and Ron had made good use of the time while Ginny and Harry had run off. Being the organized witch that she was, Hermione had immediately pulled out rolls of parchment and quills, immediately getting down to business.

"So," she sat cross-legged on the grass, having already packed up the contents of the basket. "They obviously fancy one another."

"Obviously!" Ron repeated, shaking his head in disbelief. "They fancy each other so much, and they always deny it."

Hermione nodded in agreement. "I know what you mean, Ron," she concurred, pulling her bushy brown hair into a ponytail in an attempt to save herself from the afternoon heat. "I mean, if they like each other so much, why don't they just tell each other? They just keep on skirting around the real issue, pretending that they want to help us with our friendship when all they really want is for them to be together."

Neither saw the irony in this conversation.

They spent some time, scribbling furiously in silence. Soon, their rolls of parchment were covered in notes, charts (this was Hermione's doing of course), and rough sketches. They sat back in satisfaction, pointing at the sketches as they discussed them. Hermione critically surveyed one little scribbled note, stating only, "Girl trips- falls into boy's arms."

"Maybe that one," she pointed at it, as Ron beamed.

"It's a good idea, isn't it?"

"Well it lacks originality, but then again, it is a classic," she replied thoughtfully. "I mean, if it's in a million books-"

She ignored Ron's exaggerated groan. "Enough with the books already!"

"-Then there must be something about it that's right."

"I like this one too!" Ron pointed.

"Oh yeah," Hermione stared at all the sketches and notes, her brow furrowing in concentration as she observed the dozens of ideas that they had come up with.

"Oh look," Ron began to roll up his parchment as he nodded towards the field of grass. "They're coming back."

Taking the parchment from him, Hermione hastily stuffed it in her bookbag, which she still carried around over the summer.

"Oh," she gasped softly to herself as her fingers ran over the rolled up poster that she had put there earlier.

"What is it Hermione?" Curious, Ron crawled over, peering into her bookbag.  
  
"Erm..." she blushed, hoping he wouldn't notice. Quickly, she shoved the poster into his hands, muttering, "This is for you."

Ron looked at her inquisitively, and then unrolled the poster. "Wow Hermione!" he exclaimed when he saw what it was. He looked at it almost reverently, watching the moving picture of his favorite team. "Thanks!" He scooted over towards her, throwing his arm around her quickly in a brief hug.

She blushed, noticing that Harry and Ginny had returned and were grinning down at them. "Oh wipe those grins off your face," she scowled. "Where have you two been anyway?" She glanced down at her watch. "It's been over an hour!"

"We were just around," Ginny replied vaguely.

"Doing what?" Ron smirked.

"Playing," Ginny quickly blurted out.

Hermione was confused, and apparently also unsatisfied, but she merely frowned, getting up. "Well we should get back. I mean, we've been out for long enough, and hopefully by the time we get home Mrs. Weasley will be back."

"Yeah," Ron nodded, getting up, then, as an afterthought, leaning over to pick up Hermione's book bag for her. "I'd hate to enter that house with just Fred and George in it."

"Give it here," Hermione held out her hand for her bookbag, but Ron shook his head.

"No, I can carry it," he replied, shifting the strap of the bulging bag and joking lightly. "God Hermione, what do you carry in this thing? School's over!"

She huffed in reply, though she couldn't prevent her lips from turning upwards at the corners in the tiniest smile. "Oh Ron, it's just some of my summer reading."

He glanced dubiously at the bag, finally saying, "Well it's about as heavy as a sack of bricks, but if you want to lug around that many books all the time, that's your business I suppose."

"Well thanks for carrying it, anyway," she muttered, blushing a bit.

"Not a problem at all," he reddened. "Err... and thanks for the poster again."

They walked home in pairs, Hermione and Ron glancing deviously at Ginny and Harry every few seconds, while whispering under their breaths secretively.

"Do they think that we can't see them?" Harry asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Nah," Ginny rolled her eyes. "They just don't care."

He nodded towards the long rolls of parchment that were hanging out of Hermione's book bag, which jostled, threatening to tip its contents out with ever step that Ron took.

"Plans, you reckon?"

"Of course! Knowing Hermione, there's probably three million fully feasible plans in there with every detail already prepared," Ginny laughed, a bit amused.

"It doesn't bother you?" Harry asked, nervously staring at the rolls of parchment.

She shook her head, biting her lip thoughtfully as she looked up at him. "No," she giggled, "I think it's because we're not so easily embarrassed, and when we are, we're still able to laugh about it together, you know?"

He nodded absently, thinking about what she had just said. _Yes,_ he decided. He did feel at ease with her; maybe even as much as he did with Ron and Hermione. He glanced at the couple ahead of them, deep in whispered discussion. "I suppose," he finally replied. "That it would be amusing to see what they come up with."

"Of course!" She flashed him a quick grin. "But you know what I am worried about? What Fred and George are going to do to them!"

He chuckled, shaking his head as they trudged along, carrying the picnic basket between them. "Oh god- they're never going to let Hermione and Ron get away with what they did."

They finally reached the Burrow. Harry and Ginny sniggered as they watched Hermione and Ron stop abruptly as they reached the door, looking up at the house nervously.

"Do you think your parents are home yet, Ron?" Hermione stepped back from the door, looking as if she was ready to bolt any minute.

Ron glanced down at his watch, then back up. "Well, Mum might be home," he replied, still standing by the door.

"Might." Hermione repeated weakly, unintentionally scooting closer to Ron and grabbing the sleeve of his robe.

Ron looked too terrified to notice, but Harry certainly did.

He turned to Ginny, nodding towards Hermione and Ron, and she covered her mouth, trying to stifle her giggles. "I love the twins," she mouthed back to him.

Harry smirked, nodding in agreement.

Minutes passed and Ginny rolled her eyes, sighing. She and Harry put the picnic basket down, sitting down on the steps leading up to the house.

"So Harry, how's life?" Ginny asked loudly.

"Just splendid," Harry replied, sighing dramatically. "Just a bit bored, you know?"

"Don't you just wish we could go into the house?"

"Why yes," Harry shot Hermione and Ron an annoyed look. "I wonder why we don't."

Fine," Ron shot back, looking down at Harry defiantly. "If you're not afraid, you go in first."

"No mate," Harry shook his head, staying seated on the step. "Whatever happens when the door opens is for you two, not me."

"Oh yes," Hermione rolled her eyes, remarking sarcastically, "And that's supposed to make us feel better."

Ron glared at Harry and Ginny, muttering, "If I die, it's your fault," then opened the door, cringing as he stepped in cautiously.

Nothing.

The four friends peeked inside, surprised by the relative calm in the house. There was no noise, no creatures scuttling about, and no curses being muttered from a dark corner. In fact, the house looked just as it had when they had left it.

"I don't know whether to be relieved or scared out of my wits," Ron whispered.

Hermione looked around nervously. "I would pick the latter." Still looking around warily, they all eventually crept into the house.

Once inside, Harry and Ginny were relatively at ease- after all, they weren't the ones who the twins wanted to take their revenge on. Ron and Hermione, however, sprang up the stairs (after thoroughly inspecting them for any booby traps) and ran into their rooms (after cracking open the door and peering in- a precaution of course), shutting the doors.

"Harry, I'm going to the restroom," Ginny called over her shoulder.

Harry nodded, making his way to Ron's room, hoping to tease him a bit about Hermione. Knocking on the door, he waited. A moment later, Ron replied, muttering something about dust all over the place and sneezing. Suddenly, he opened the door. Ron stared at Harry for a moment, his eyes glazing over.

"Err..." Harry looked at him a bit worriedly. "You okay?"

Silence.

Then- "Harry, I LOVE you!" Ron lunged at Harry.

Harry stared. _Obviously the twins' doing_, he thought, before running down the hallway.

"Help!" he cried out desperately, hoping that either Ginny or the twins would come and save him.

Ron followed him in quick pursuit, screaming professions of love at the top of his lungs. Hearing the ruckus from the hallway, Hermione, who had suddenly begun to sneeze, opened her door to yell at the boys. All she saw shooting past was a blur- Harry of course. Immediately, her eyes too glazed over, and in a flash, she was dashing down the hallway after Harry.

"Harry- you are the love of my life!" she cried.

"Argh!" Harry screamed.

Ginny had just washed her hands and was opening the restroom door when she heard Harry's distressed yell. Wondering if he was hurt, she ran out. What she saw made her blink- once, twice, and three times. _Yes, the image of Ron and Hermione hurtling after Harry and screaming of their love for him was not an illusion_. Her mouth opened slightly in shock as she stared after him.

He suddenly hurtled her way, running by her in a blur as he called over his shoulder, "Ginny! Do something!"

So Ginny did the only thing she could think of. She ran up the stairs and began pounding at Fred and George's door. "YOU TWO BETTER COME OUT HERE AND EXPLAIN THIS TO ME RIGHT AWAY!" She bellowed.

Fred and George opened their door, and then ran out to look down the hall. On seeing Harry chased by Ron and Hermione, George shook his head in frustration. "This wasn't supposed to happen!"

"Yeah," Fred turned to Ginny, explaining. "Ron and Hermione were supposed to see each other first, not Harry."

"Well do something!" Ginny cried, watching poor Harry stumble towards them with Ron and Hermione close behind.

"Argh!" he screamed again. "Get them away!"

"Harry, mate! I thought you liked me!" Ron called at him.

"Harry- your eyes make me swoon!" Hermione shouted.

"Aahhh!" Harry ran towards the twins and Ginny, who snapping out of their shock at seeing Ron and Hermione's behavior, grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into George and Fred's room, shutting the door quickly and locking it.

Harry leaned against the wall, panting as he looked in terror at the door, which Ron and Hermione were currently pounding at and yelling sappy love phrases. George, Fred and Ginny took one look at him and burst into laughter.

"Sorry there, Harry," the twins chortled.

"What did you do to them?" Harry asked, still looking absolutely horrified although the pounding on the door had subsided and Hermione and Ron had apparently left. Turning to Ginny, who was giggling so hard that tears were leaking out of her eyes, he protested. "Ginny it isn't funny! That was, quite possibly, the scariest thing that's ever happened to me. Voldemort just doesn't compare."

Fred scratched his head, grinning sheepishly. "See, we put some, ah, dust in their rooms. Well it makes them become completely infatuated with the first person they see after they breathe it in."

"Why would you do that?" Harry demanded, apparently still shaken.

"Well obviously," George explained. "Hermione and Ron were supposed to see each other first."

"And what?" Ginny snapped, having finished her giggling fit. "Start snogging each other senseless? In their state now, I wouldn't be surprised if they did more than that, if you know what I mean."

George and Fred looked at each other for a moment, making disgusted faces.

"Ugh," George grimaced.

"Didn't think of that," Fred remarked. "Guess it's a good thing that they saw Harry then."

"How long are they going to be like that?" Harry sat on the ground, looking a bit concerned.

"Oh, not long." Fred replied reassuringly. "Only for a couple hours or so. And don't worry, it won't happen again. The extra dust in their room deactivates itself after an hour or so."

"A couple hours?" Running a hand through his hair, Harry slumped onto the ground. "What am I supposed to do?"

George and Fred looked at each other and shrugged.

"Well," Fred scratched his head thoughtfully. "I suppose you could stay here through dinner."

"Yeah," George continued. "Just say you're ill. In fact, we'll tell Mum for you."

"It's the least we could do," Fred added. "To make it up to you."

"Yeah," Harry grinned weakly. "It was rather terrifying to hear Ron yell about how he regarded me as much more than a friend."

Ginny, who had been sitting rather patiently on Fred's bed jumped in. "I'll bring you dinner Harry," she offered. "I'll stay up here and eat with you. I'm sure Mum would let me."

George winked at the two. "I don't know," he teased. "You better not do things other than eating up here, you hear? Otherwise we'll come up," He turned to Harry. "And pummel you into the ground."

"I think that's fair," Fred commented nonchalantly. "Alright, Harry?"

Harry gulped, nodding quickly as he watched the twins examine him critically. Ginny on the other hand, looked rather exasperated.

"Oh come on you two," she argued. "I've- unfortunately enough- come into rooms to see you snogging girls senseless. What's wrong with me and Harry doing the same, huh?"

Although he hadn't been drinking water at the time, Harry thought that he just might choke- but he didn't. So instead he coughed, turning towards the twins and shaking his head furiously. _Perhaps I can communicate to them that NO I will not violate your little sister!_ He continued shaking his head in an attempt to save his life.

Unfortunately, neither of the twins looked his way. Instead, they focused their attentions on their little sister, who was currently standing on Fred's bed, hands on her hips as she glared down at them defiantly.

"Ginny," Fred looked mystified. "You're my baby sister! You couldn't have possibly meant that."

"Yeah," George joined in. "You would never say something like that!"

Ginny looked at them in an almost pitying manner. "Well I just did."

George and Fred exchanged baffled looks.

"I suppose," George finally said, looking a bit dejected. "That she's finally growing up."

Fred sighed. "She'll no longer need us around to protect her, George."

Ginny's expression softened as she jumped off the bed, landing in front of her brothers. "Well yeah I'm growing up," she scoffed teasingly. "You guys went through the same thing remember?"

"Yeah but you're a girl!" George protested.

She rolled her eyes. "And that makes a difference," she replied sarcastically.

"Of course!" the twins chorused together.

Her face broke out into a smile as she looked at them. "Aww guys!" she pulled them into a group hug, which they half-heartedly protested to with "eww"s. "Fine," she pulled away, smiling impishly. "How about we make a deal?"

Fred replied, "Let's hear what you have to say," looking at his little sister endearingly.

"I promise," she started solemnly, but then, despite herself, began giggling. "To bring Harry his dinner without snogging him, or doing other inappropriate things. In return, you two will stop interrogating him."

George frowned. "How about we just lessen the interrogations?" he suggested.

Ginny rolled her eyes, grinning. "Well," she sighed, "I suppose that's the best I'm going to get."

Harry perked up at the prospect of spending dinner alone with Ginny. _Of course_, he told himself. _It's only because plotting against Ron and Hermione is so much fun. And Ginny's nice to talk to. Yes, that's it_.

Ginny turned around to flash a sweet smile at him, and he found himself thinking, _Thank god for the twins_.


	17. What's Going On?

**Well, yesterday I was in San Francisco all day helping my cousin pack up her apartment. She's moving to Virginia; I'm so sad. Oh and I got sun burnt for the first time the other day and now my shoulders are peeling. Gross. **

**Well, I'm so glad the last chapter was well received; you have no idea how exciting it is to go online and find that there have been 20 new reviews since the morning. You guys rock! =). Anyway, I have serious misgivings about this chapter- it just didn't flow like the others. But oh well, I can't think of how to rewrite it, so it'll just have to do. **

**Oh spiffy reviewers, I bow to you! **

**Thank you very much to Nightwing 509, Jlatmil1, Tru Lys, Hippie-Banana, Chantal J, Padfoot Is ALIVE, the Vampire Story Hunter and sweethoneyno1! Please continue reviewing!  
  
Alexandrea- Aww, you're the sweetest! =) And yes, snogging is making out, in England or something like that. Thanks for reviewing, and I'm incredibly flattered that you've become dependent on this fic! **

**BrownPryde- Yes, poor, poor Harry, the recipient of Hermione and Ron's affections. Anway, here is the next chapter, hope you like it! P.I.D.- Thank you for supporting me! And why yes, that IS worth a reply! =D **

**Kingmaker- Goodness your review was long! =) I had fun reading that! I know what you mean about muggle teenagers not wanting to have a significant other unless their friends have one- isn't conformity ridiculous? Anyway, thanks for the LONG review; it made my day! And apparently you have something against rabid fangirls? Haha, hope you don't see me as one. Well, please continue reading my fic and of course, review! **

**JamieBell- Your reviews totally rocked! Wow, I'm so incredibly excited by your approval of my fic, after all, your writing is absolutely amazing. Hey, how about you update your story? =D **

**Sabrina- Thanks! I'm trying to add more humor, but we'll see how this goes! **

**Ronnies Gurl- Aww, you're so sweet! Thanks so much for your support; you're so darn spiffy!**

** Iloveharry- Gee, I'm so flattered! I'm glad you like my story and think it's funny; please continue reading it! **

**Crookshanksx- Aaah, thank you! A new reviewer, how exciting! Well thank you so much for taking time to read my fic; you rock! **

**Teknocat- Oh your hard life of reading fanfiction... Lol. Well here's a bit more hardship coming your way; you better read it! =D **

**Leoking- Ack, you're totally flattering me! Thanks for the super long review; it made my day! Wait, where are you from in Europe? I'm absolutely fascinated! Actually, the weather this week's been pretty nice, not too humid yet. And ironically enough, though tons of people comment on this, I do not have any older brothers that I based George and Fred on. But I do have older cousins! Over a dozen older male cousins to be exact, and they're quite funny when they get protective. =D SN means my screen name for AOL instant messenger. And about my heritage? It all started out with French colonization of Vietnam (sometime way back when), and they also converted many of the Vietnamese people. Apparently my family was one of those, so that's why I'm catholic! Yup! Well here's the next chapter; have fun with it! Oh and for the record, you're certainly my favorite South- Western European! Haha... **

**Lightprincess- LOL. I can only wish that I had older brothers to be overprotective, haha. Poor you, I'm the oldest child =P. Well anyway, thanks for reviewing!**

**IDunnoXx- Thanks! No offense taken; I promise =P. I'm extremely flattered that you even compared my writing to J.K. Rowling's... you rock. **

**Okay now read this chapter!**  
  
Mrs. Weasley eventually came home, and was pleasantly surprised to see that Fred and George were actually taking care of Ron and Hermione. In fact, throughout dinner, they sat by the two and chatted away with them. Of course, what she didn't see was the fact that Ron and Hermione were magically bound to their chairs, or that Fred and George kicked them every time they began to look longingly up the stairs and open their mouths to say something suspicious about Harry, which they often came dangerously close to doing, especially Ron, who demanded, "I want some Harry!"

Thankfully the twins swiftly kicked him in the shin and smiled, telling their Mum that Ron had actually asked for some gravy. Needless to say, the four teenagers were quite tense throughout the meal.

Ginny had come down to dinner and announced, much to the disappointment of Ron and Hermione (who sighed and began whining- that is until George and Fred quickly pinched them) that Harry was feeling a bit ill. She volunteered to go eat with him, and of course, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley happily complied, sending her back upstairs staggering under the weight of food piled onto a tray.

"Hey Harry," she chirped as she pushed into the room. She stumbled, trying to keep the tray up. "Oof..."

Harry, who had been lounging on Fred's bed and idly flipping through a joke shop catalogue immediately jumped up to help her. Taking the tray from her, he placed in on the ground where they both sat cross-legged. "Wow Ginny, this looks great!" He exclaimed enthusiastically, looking at the heavy tray of food.

"Mmhmm," replied Ginny as she munched through a pastry. They ate in silence, both concentrating on the food. In almost no time, the tray was nearly empty and Ginny and Harry were leaning against the bed, sighing in contentment.

"That was good," Harry remarked, chuckling. "Better than anything Aunt Petunia ever made, anyway."

"Mm..." Ginny smiled, rubbing her stomach. "I'm getting fat, Harry!" she joked.

"Oh the horrors," he replied dryly. "Now you're almost as heavy as that girl at the playground, Lila." She smacked his arm, giggling as he yelped in protest.

"Hey, at least evenly divide your assaults between the two arms! Don't just bruise me on one..."

She stuck out her tongue at him in reply. "So what shall we do about Ron and Hermione?"

He idly nibbled on a cookie thoughtfully. "Well after they're done chasing after me-"

Ginny snorted in amusement.

"I suppose they'll just go back to getting us together."

"Mmhmm," she nodded in agreement. "Well we'll just have to wait and see what they try to do to us, won't we?"

He nodded in reply and they sat for a moment thoughtfully. From downstairs, they could hear the clinking of silverware against plates as the family ate.

"So what are we supposed to do?" Ginny shifted, scooting backwards so that she was now leaning against a bed.

Harry shrugged. "You'll keep my company, right?" he confirmed. "I mean," he glanced nervously at the shut door. "I wouldn't want to go downstairs with Ron and Hermione, err, like that."

Ginny nodded in reply, crawling over to sit by him. "So," she started off. "How was it, you know, having Ron confess his love to you?"

He shuddered, closing his eyes in horror. "Oh god," he laughed shakily. "I've got to admit- he can be articulate when he wants to be. I only wish he said things like that to Hermione instead of me."

Ginny laughed, imitating Ron. "Oh Harry! You're not just my best mate; I've loved you forever! Ever since that first day on the Hogwart's Express I've been pining after you! Please tell me you'll be mine!"

"Argh!" Harry threw a pillow at her, grimacing. "I don't want to hear that!"

She caught the pillow easily, turning to smirk at him as she held it threateningly. Quickly, Harry reached on the bed behind him to grab one as well, and they stood facing each other, armed with pillows. In seconds they were beating each other with the fluffy pillows, Ginny shrieking every time she was hit as Harry laughed.

"Ack!"

"I'm going to get you!"

"Oh yeah?" Harry advanced on her, bringing the pillow down over her head.

"Oof!" She yelled, eyes sparkling. "You're going to pay for that!" She hopped after him, brandishing the pillow wildly over her head.

Harry jumped over the beds nimbly, avoiding her attacks.

"Hey no fair!" she pouted as she scrambled over the beds. "You've got longer legs!"

He turned around, sticking his tongue out at her childishly. Giggling madly, she launched herself at him from the bed, landing on top of him with a loud thump as they both hit the ground.

"Owww," Harry moaned as he opened his eyes, rubbing at the back of his head.

"Sorry there Harry," Ginny looked down at him, concerned.

"You alright?" "Fine," Harry mumbled. "Errm," he flushed. "Would you mind getting off of me?"

"Oh!" Ginny blushed, flustered as she stared at him for a moment, wide- eyed.

At that moment, the door opened.

"Oh my god!" Fred exclaimed, staring in horror.

"What?" George looked in over his shoulder to find his little sister on the floor and on top of Harry. "WHAT'S GOING ON?!"

Ginny squeaked, turning red, and quickly scrambled off of Harry.

Harry quickly sat up, staring at the twins in horror. "I, we..." he stammered. "We weren't doing anything."

"Yeah," Ginny nodded, mortified.

"What were you doing then?" Fred yelled. "Having dinner on top of each other?"

George simply stood there speechless, looking aghast.

"I," Ginny jumped to her feet, still beet-red. "We were just having a pillow fight," she explained earnestly. "Really, that's it."

She pointed at Fred's bed. "I was on there, you see, and I jumped off to attack Harry, and that's when you came in."

The twins looked gravely at their little sister, who was standing in front of them with pleading eyes. They then turned to glare at Harry who was sitting on the ground, mouth partially open in mortified shock. "GET OUT!" they both yelled simultaneously, pointing at the open doorway.

Harry opened his mouth to defend himself, but on seeing the expressions on their faces, thought better of it and simply scrambled out of the room as fast as he could, locking himself in the bathroom for fear of both the twins and Ron and Hermione, who were stalking around downstairs, obviously searching for him.

"Now," Fred began, closing the door behind him. "Tell us the truth Ginny."

George looked at her expectantly.

"I did!" she shrieked in frustration, still flushed. "I did, and you didn't believe me! You never believe me! And you don't trust me with anyone! You know Harry's nice- you like Harry! Why can't you ever just listen to me?!" She ranted, getting louder by the second. "And you know what? I PROMISED THAT I WOULDN'T SNOG HIM. Remember? I gave you my word! Doesn't that mean anything to you at all?! And besides, you know what?! Harry and I aren't even together-"

She took note of their shocked expressions.

"-Yeah that's right! We never were! We just pretended to be so that we could get Ron and Hermione together! And all this time I've had to deal with Ron and Hermione making fun of me, and you two making it so much HARDER too with all your interrogations and everything!"

As she stopped to take a breath, Fred grabbed hold of her, clamping a hand over her mouth.

"Okay Gin," George said soothingly, looking a bit shocked. "Now just calm down, alright?"

"Yeah," Fred struggled to keep her still. "God, I've never seen you this worked up!"

Ginny narrowed her eyes.

"Now," Fred looked relieved as her scratching and muffled screams subsided. "If I let you go, you'll sit and listen to us, won't you?'

She nodded her head, strands of red hair falling messily across her face.

"So," Fred let go of her cautiously, looking a bit apprehensive as she scooted away from him, sitting on the floor looking extremely rumpled as she pouted. "You and Potter aren't together?"

"What?" she retorted scathingly. "You don't believe that either?"

"No," George sighed. "Of course we believe you Gin! It's just hard you know?" he looked at her imploringly. "We're your big brothers and all. It's our job to look after you."

She turned away, refusing to reply.

"So nothing happened?" George asked softly.

"Nothing at all," she grumbled. "Like I told you before, nothing at all."

"You're absolutely certain?" Fred pressed.

"Nothing happened!"

"Oh," the twins grinned at her sheepishly.

She glared at them, crossing her arms huffily.

"Oh come on Gin," Fred wheedled. "We're sorry. Just trying to look out for you, you know."

"Yeah," George added. "We just don't want to see you getting hurt, that's all."

"I suppose," Fred continued. "That we were wrong all along. Harry's a good fellow, Gin, but I am glad you're not dating him."

George nodded in agreement. "Come on Ginny, now that you've told us that, we'll leave him alone. We really will."

"You will?" she looked at them warily.

Fred chuckled. "Look who's distrustful now! Of course we will," he winked. "Nothing to worry about if you two don't want to snog each other, eh?"

Ginny glared at him, but with much less malice than before. "Well, go apologize to him then!" she demanded.

The twins looked at each other for a moment, then opened the door and walked out. "Where'd he go, you reckon?" Fred mused.

"Harry! Oy Harry!" George called out, cringing when he heard Ron and Hermione's excited shrieks of delight. "Harry come on out. We won't hurt you, promise."

Slowly, the door to the nearest bathroom cracked open.

"Harry mate," Fred approached the door, grinning at Harry's frightened yelp despite Ginny's glare. "We're sorry, Harry. Ginny here told us everything."

"Harry," George too approached the bathroom door, which was still only cracked open about half an inch. "We'll stop interrogating you. And I think we can work together, you know," he lowered his voice to a whisper. "To get Ron and Hermione together."

"You promise you won't hurt me?" Harry asked, his voice shaking slightly.

"Promise," the twins replied solemnly.

"You really can come out of there now," George said cheerily, trying to push open the door.

Unfortunately, Harry took this as a threat and locked himself inside once again, calling out, "I promise I wasn't doing anything! I promise!"

"Oh look what you've done!" Ginny pushed past the twins, glowering as they tried to hide their grins. "Harry?" she knocked on the bathroom door. "Harry, they're telling the truth. You can come out."

Slowly the bathroom door opened, and a very frightened Harry emerged, looking warily at the twins.

He smiled weakly at Ginny, but yelled in alarm and jumped away when she made a move to touch his arm. "I didn't touch your sister in any inappropriate ways- I swear!" he defended himself while looking frantically at the twins, who were snickering so hard they had turned red.

"Oh Harry," Ginny snapped, grabbing his hand and ignoring his cringing and terrified look. "Ignore them. You're coming with me to get something to drink." She took a look at his sweaty forehead. "Goodness Harry, they really frightened you, didn't they?"

He nodded, blushing slightly in embarrassment. "Come on now," she guided him downstairs.

Unfortunately, she had completely forgotten about Ron and Hermione, and was quite surprised when they reached the bottom of the stairs and were spotted by the two.

Hermione's head snapped towards them. "There he is!" she cried out breathily.

Ron looked towards them as well. "Ginny!" he called out menacingly. "What are you doing touching MY Harry?"

Ginny burst into laughter, laughing harder as she saw the jealous look on her brother's face.

Harry, looking absolutely horrified, still holding Ginny's hand darted into the nearest room with a door, which was, unluckily, a very small broom cupboard. Harry rushed into the broom cupboard with Ginny, slamming the door shut quickly.

From outside, Hermione and Ron shouted, apparently trying to get him to come out.

"Come on Harry, you don't have to make a huge commitment," Ron persuaded. "Just test the waters, you know? See how we'd do as more than friends."

"Harry," Hermione pleaded. "I think you are, quite possibly, the most wonderful person in the world. Please," she whimpered. "I've loved you since I first saw that messily rumpled unbelievably sexy hairdo of yours."

Inside the dark, small, broom cupboard, Harry shook in terror while Ginny continued laughing hysterically. If there had been lights, Harry would've seen that she was doubled over, laughing so hard that tears were coming out. But of course, they were in the dark, so he could only hear her giggles of amusement.

"It's really not funny, Ginny," he hissed resentfully, sighing in relief as Hermione and Ron gave up and walked away.

She hiccupped. "Oh god..." she giggled madly. "Did you hear what Ron said?" she gasped out. "Or Hermione! Talking about your... unbelievably sexy hairdo!"

Silence.

"Harry?" she couldn't help but giggle.

"I'm not going to even reply to that," he responded, sounding a bit traumatized.

"Oh poor Harry," Ginny continued laughing, scooting over to the wall so that he would have more room to sit. "This has been quite a day for you, huh?"

He shifted uncomfortably in the small space. "And it's all Fred and George's fault," he remarked sullenly.

"Ick. Do you think we can come out of here yet?"

"No," Harry sighed in resignation. "They're probably outside, waiting to attack me as I come out."

"Oh don't worry Harry," Ginny soothed. "The twins said they'd be alright by tonight, right? So it shouldn't be much longer than an hour."

Harry shifted again. "But it's uncomfortable in here!"

She groaned, moving slightly as well. "I know what you mean."

Silence.

"Harry?" Ginny asked tentatively. _Thank god there's no light, or else I'd be blushing like mad_, she thought. "I'm in the worst position ever here- I'm about rolled up into a ball with my back pressed against a corner. Do you think," she hesitated. "I could maybe, ermm..." she mumbled out quickly, "Sit on your lap perhaps?"

Harry sat in the dark, trying to register what she had just said. _Sit on his lap_? "Well," he replied, blushing furiously while thanking God that it was dark in the cupboard. "It would make it much easier for both of us." He reached over and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her onto his lap. "I... Is it...erm..." he stammered out. "Better?"

"Yeah," she sat stiffly, nervously biting her lip as she struggled to sound normal. "Thanks."

They sat like that for some time, both trying to stop blushing nervously.

"So..." Harry trailed off, trying desperately to break the awkward silence. "How've you been, Ginny?"

She giggled. "Well," she laughed. "Considering you've been around me for the past two weeks, there's actually not that much to say."

She cautiously leaned back, blushing as the back of her head rested on his shoulder.

He gulped as she leaned back, her body coming into contact with his. _Well,_ he thought, a bit nervously. _This is interesting_. "Oh well," he tried to make more conversation. "How's school been?" He mentally slapped himself for his lame questions. _God, couldn't I think of anything better_?

"It's been alright," Ginny replied uneasily as she ran a hand through her hair. "You're well aware of what it's like, I'm sure. You know, good times with friends, evil professors like Snape, lots and lots of homework that nobody seems to finish on time- well with the exception of Hermione that is."

Harry chuckled, relaxing as she continued.

"Hermione's so brilliant... I don't know why Malfoy has to be such a bloody git and call her a mudblood all the time," she remarked. "She's so much more brilliant than he is..."

"Yeah," Harry added, wrapping both arms around her comfortably as she sighed contentedly. "That's why Ron fancies her, you know," he snickered mischievously.

She giggled. "Yeah, now all we have to do is get him to realize it."

He groaned in reply. "Easier said than done, especially with those two."

"They're so against being together- I mean, they obviously are mad about each other."

"I know," Harry sighed. "But it's a bit hard for Ron to tell her how he feels, you know?"

"Yeah, I can't imagine Ron professing his love to anyone," she snickered playfully. "Except to you of course."

"Eww," he wrinkled his nose in disgust. "That was absolutely disgusting."

"I know. That's why I just had to bring it up."_ Oh dark. Warm. Harry_. Ginny thought. She blinked, feeling herself become a bit drowsy. _Must stay awake_. "It's getting late, Harry," she yawned, snuggling into his chest.

"Mm..." he mumbled in reply.

"Do you think they're gone by now?"

"Hopefully," he shrugged, sitting in silence for a few minutes. Finally, he called out loudly, "Oy Ron! Hermione! It's me, Harry!" to hear their reactions.

Silence.

"Splendid, I think they're gone," he yawned, exhausted. "Ginny?" he shook her gently, but she only rolled over, mumbling something incoherent.

He stood up carefully, setting Ginny down on the floor gently as he opened the door warily. Thankfully, Ron and Hermione were nowhere to be seen. He sighed in relief, leaning down to shake Ginny. "Gin?"

_Apparently,_ he thought. _She's quite a sound sleeper_. Fearful of provoking the wrath of the twins, he leaned over, silently, picking her up.

Getting her up the stairs was quite a difficult affair, as he nearly slipped and fell to his (and probably hers too) death several times. Finally though, he made it upstairs. A bit nervously, he made his way to Hermione's room and knocked hesitantly.

He held his breath in terror, stepping back when she opened the door.

"Harry?" she mumbled sleepily, rubbing her eyes. "Goodness, I just had the most ridiculous dream in which I was chasing after you, asking you to marry me."

Harry laughed nervously, shifting from one foot to another. "Yeah, ridiculous," he nodded. "Look, Ginny fell asleep, and I thought I'd bring her up for you."

"Oh," Hermione nodded. "Alright then." She opened the door all the way and showed him in, motioning towards Ginny's bed. "Set her down over there."

Harry gingerly placed Ginny on the bed and then turned to Hermione.

"Thanks Hermione," he yawned. "I'm off to bed now."

"Alright."

He was halfway down the hallway when she suddenly poked her head out of the door, yelling after him. "Wait? Why did Ginny fall asleep with you anyway?!"

He quickened his pace, pretending he hadn't heard as he felt himself redden.


	18. Off We Go Again

**Eep! This morning I came downstairs, turned on the computer, saw reviews, squeaked, and then proceeded to grin madly at my family and call my little brother "hun" (needless to say, he was quite wary of this, considering I'm his older sister, the one who occasionally chases him around the house yelling death threats before locking him in a room =D). Obviously, your reviews made my day! Thaaaaankkkksss so much!**

**Nightwing 509, Alexandrea, Tru Lys, WhyDoYouCare36, Zeo and the Harvest Sprites, Mep, Crookshankx, Brown Pryde, The Ink of Life, possom2009, WeasleyWeasle, The Vampire Story Hunter, Ze-Cookie, teknocat, DanielLover4Lyfe and craftygurl- YOU GUYS ROCK! Thanks for reviewing!**

**Ronnies Gurl- _blush_ Ack, you flatter me far too much. I'm so glad you liked it, and whew, thank god you liked the closet scene. I was being terribly unoriginal that day and thought that I'd just throw that in. Well thanks for reviewing!**

**JamieBell- I'm so glad you thought the last chapter was funny =D! Well, this chapter doesn't have nearly as much humor (sadly, I know), but there's more description. And well, I hope you like it! Good stuff, and thanks for taking the time to read and review my story!**

**A Harry and Ginny Dreamer- Harry and Ginny are going to kiss... HAH I'M NOT TELLING. _Sticks out tongue childishly._ Well thanks for reviewing, and no I'm not going to tell you because alas, I myself do not know. And no, I don't watch any British shows, I am rather TV deprived. You have no idea.**

**Leoking- Glad you liked the last chapter! This one isn't funny, but hey, it has its own merits. Hmph. I'm going to have one heck of a time guessing where you're from (my favorite North European living in South-Western Europe, sheesh! That's a mouthful). Alas, I did not pay enough attention in geography during middle school, or World History class for that matter. So I'm going to blindly guess at countries each time- hoping that they are in Northern Europe and I don't sound like a complete idiot by guessing something like "Uh, Spain?" and have you reply "Why no, that's _South Western _Europe, you brainless little nitwit!" (Not that you'd say that, but I'm sure you'd think it! By the way, is that where you are now? That's the furthest South-Western European country I could think of- but once again, geography is not my strong point) Hm... my guess for today shall be Germany! Is that far North enough? My best friend's cousin from Germany came over to visit last month, and it was good fun. She came to school with us and we went shopping together. Granted, she had some pretty strange things on the shopping list that her whole family had given her (lingerie and steak sauce?) but it was awesome nevertheless. This isn't such a random guess though, I must admit. Don't think I didn't notice that "autsch" thing! So did I guess right? _Crosses fingers!_ Haha... Well thank you so much for all your support! One of your two favorite stories? _Gasp_, I'm honored. Yay, another Catholic, how fun! Okay, so I'll stop my long long rant and give you time to read this chapter. **

**Kingmaker- Pshaw, California rocks (Granted, I've never been to Virginia, but hey, I've got to be at least a bit defensive of my home state)! Mmhmm, well one advantage to my cousin moving to Virginia is that I'll _have_ to go visit sometime (yay for vacations!). Ah, being sunburnt so that you have red rings around your eyes =(. That's unfortunate- I hope that never happens to me! 'Course, I wear contacts, so if I get sunburnt on my face, it'll be completely red, but still. Hehe, thank you, I'm honored that I'm not considered a rabid fangirl. I've always found self-insertations rather strange; the product of people who are far too obsessed (I'm obsessed with writing, but not the characters- there's a difference) and so in love with a certain character that they create a hot and torrid (imaginary though it may be) romance with said fictional character. No offense to those people or anything of course- I myself was hopelessly in love with Tuxedo Mask (from Sailor Moon, yes, it's terribly embarrassing) at the age of seven. Anyway, hopefully you'll like this chapter, and thank you for all the time you took to read and review my story! **

**Elanor- _Gasp_ a reviewer from England! This is incredibly exciting! Anyway, I'm so flattered that you love my story- and thanks for the lesson in English slang and whatnot. It's absolutely fascinating! Well anyway, here's the next chapter, hope you like it!**

**Lightprincess- Oh dear, I know what you mean about being shy around boys! Well, except the ones that I regard purely as buddies. But still... ack, even _writing _that part made me admire Ginny's bravery, lol. I'm such a dork I know. **

**So everyone, without much further ado, here is the next chapter for you to read. Not so much humor, or fluff, but hey, there'll be more of that to come. **

The next morning, Hermione and Ron both came downstairs muttering something about strange dreams and began eating breakfast.

Exchanging secretive glances, the twins, Ginny, and Harry all turned to grin at each other.

Trying to appease their younger sister, the twins were exceedingly pleasant towards Harry throughout breakfast, from time to time smiling guiltily at Ginny.

"Ginny?" Ginny looked up at Hermione.

"Hmm?" "Why were you and Harry-"

She was cut off by Harry's frantic waving as he mouthed "NO!" while motioning at the twins.

Looking confused, she shut her mouth, giving Harry a questioning look as he sighed in relief.

"Yeah?"

She shook her head at Ginny. "No never mind." Sitting at the table, she picked idly at her oatmeal, yawning. "Harry, I told you about my dream, right?"

He chuckled nervously in reply, running a hand through his hair as he blushed slightly, "Yeah. Absolutely hilarious Hermione," he coughed. "Imagine- you professing your love to me."

The twins choked into their oatmeal, and Ginny coughed.

Ron simply turned very red, muttering something under his breath as he gave Hermione a confused look.

"What about your dream, Ron?" Fred prodded, grinning. "Weren't you talking about something this morning?"

Ron shook his head, turning even redder. "Err... It was nothing," he replied, looking away from Harry.

Ginny burst into giggles, remembering Ron's ardent professions of love from the night before.

Hermione and Ron stared at her questioningly.

"Err..." she blushed, quickly pointing at the twins. "They were making faces at me," she accused, shrugging at the twins once Hermione and Ron had turned away.

"Hey," Hermione started. "Ron and I are going to go to the library today, alright? I have to tutor Ron."

Ron groaned slightly and was promptly elbowed by Hermione.

"So," she finished chirpily, smirking at Ginny and Harry. "You'll just have to find something to do together."

"Okay," Ginny replied, trying not to smile as she winked at Harry. _Their plans were going perfectly_.

Ron got up, and Hermione quickly followed. After dumping their bowls into the sink, they both went upstairs, each into their respective rooms. Hermione came out with her signature book bag, while Ron came out, looking rather embarrassed, with a wrapped parcel in hand.

Harry nudged Ginny, nodding towards the package. She smiled back excitedly as she recognized the parcel as the same size as the book that they had bought for Ron to give to Hermione.

"Well," Hermione announced purposefully. "We're off. See you tonight!"

Outside, Ron looked at Hermione hopefully. "We're not really going to the library, are we?"

She glared at him. "Of course we are!"

"We're spending a whole day there?" he gulped, looking horrified.

She ignored him, and he followed her reluctantly as she walked down the street. "Hey Hermione? How do you know where the library is?"

She rolled her eyes in reply. "I looked it up."

They continued down the street, finally turning into a smaller, seemingly residential road. Hermione continued, walking towards one of the houses. Finally, upon reaching the house, she walked around the back and into the backyard, walking into their shed.

Though she'd gotten used to magic by now, she still found herself gasping in awe as the interior of the shed transformed before her eyes into a staggering twenty story building made entirely of glass. From below, she could see witches and wizards as they walked around on the other floors, browsing through the thousands of bookshelves. At one end of the first floor, people passed their books through a slot in a wall after touching it with their wand. The wall immediately conjured up the identity of the witch or wizard and checked out the books in their name. People traveled from floor to floor through boxes, rather like a cross between elevators and floo powder. They entered the boxes, said the name of the floor they wished to be on, and CRACK, they were there.

Hermione stared, her mouth open in shock. "Wow..."

Ron shrugged his shoulders in reply. "Yeah, Mum used to take us here when we were younger."

Hermione nodded in reply, still staring at everything.

She gasped as a head suddenly popped out in front of them, zooming towards her. "Hello and welcome! How can I help you?" the head, which was that of a smiling old woman, asked.  
  
Hermione gaped.

Ron approached the head. "We'll just be looking around, thanks."

The head smiled cheerily, and then zoomed off to another group of people.

"That," Ron explained on seeing Hermione's shocked expression. "Provides information. You know, if you're looking for specific books or something."

Hermione smiled weakly. "Back home, we just have computers and librarians to do that."

Ron stared at her, looking baffled. "Why would you ever have real people doing that? That's just so inefficient."

She opened her mouth to retort, but simply shut her mouth again, rolling her eyes. "So," she stood, looking around nervously. "I don't know how anything here works. Where can we find a desk or something to work at?"

Ron grinned, guiding her to a box. "Okay!" he exclaimed enthusiastically. "Now you stand in there and shout 'study floor', okay? Go ahead!"

They both entered the box and simultaneously shouted, "Study floor!"

A gust of air whooshed past them, and with a loud BANG, they were suddenly at another floor. Hermione stepped out cautiously, a little frightened by the dizzying effect that a glass floor had.

"Come on!"

Ron held out his hand to her questioningly as she gulped, a panicked expression on her face as she gazed downwards.

"You won't fall," he sighed in exasperation.

Tentatively, she stepped towards him a bit shakily as she whispered, "Ron, what floor are we on?"

"The sixteenth," he replied nonchalantly.

She squeaked in terror, and then bravely took another two steps, grabbing his hand quickly.

Patiently, he guided her to one of the hundreds of tables on that floor, and only when she was sitting down on a chair (and grabbing at the edge of the table) did she look around in wonder.

Her eyes widened as the traveled over the expansive floor with hundreds of large tables everywhere. Here and there were scattered witches and wizards, either deep in concentration as they pored over books and documents, or sitting about and idly chatting.

Ron looked at her expectantly. "You okay?"

She nodded, mouth slightly parted in shock.

"Never knew you were afraid of heights," he remarked, laughing lightly.

She giggled, a bit embarrassed. "Well, neither did I," she blushed. "But it's just very disconcerting when you look down and it feels like there's nothing there." She took a quick peek downwards, shuddering as she saw the 16 levels separating her from the first floor.

"Oh yeah," Ron scratched his head, blushing a bit as she turned to him. "Here," he slid the wrapped parcel that he had been carrying across the table.

She opened the package slowly, blushing as she saw what it was. "Thanks Ron!" she exclaimed. "But," she giggled a bit. "I didn't know you read this kind of stuff." She motioned towards the romantic bestseller sitting before her.

Ron reddened, stuttering out, "Err... no, I didn't read it!"

She smirked in reply, flipping through the book casually.

"Anyway," Ron began abruptly, desperate to change the subject (and protect his masculine image), "What shall we do about Harry and Ginny?"

She tugged at the rolls of parchment in her book bag, placing them neatly on the table. "You pick," she motioned over the dozens of plans.

They pored over the plans for some time, but after half an hour, they had gotten nowhere. Hermione sighed in frustration. "There's so many plans, but none of them look like they'll really work!"

Ron agreed. "You know," he suggested. "I think they're well on their way to realizing their feelings for each other. They just need to continue spending time together."

She began rolling up the parchment again, tossing it haphazardly into her bag. "You're right, Ron."

"So," he asked hopefully. "Want to leave now?"

To his surprise, Hermione agreed immediately, though more so because of her fear of heights than because she was actually tired of the library. On the way out, she did indeed gaze upwards longingly at the millions of books, but she made no move to explore the other floors.

Once outside, Ron checked his watch and grinned at her. "We've got a good five hours before we should head back," he commented. "What do you want to do?"

Hermione smirked at him. "We could go to the bookstore," she suggested, watching his reaction.

"Err..." he shrugged helplessly. "I suppose," he agreed reluctantly. "We could. If you want to that is."

She pretended to look delighted. "Oh yes Ron!" she squealed exaggeratedly to his dismay. "We'll spend the next five hours there!"

He smiled weakly. "That... sounds great."

She chuckled, smiling fondly at him. "That's sweet of you Ron, but I wouldn't torture you that much. Thanks for agreeing to it anyway."

They walked down the street aimlessly, stopping for a moment by the park from the day before to watch some children play a game of quidditch.

"Ooh!" Hermione squealed, charmed as a little boy no older than three whizzed by them on a toy broom. "They're so small!"

"Yeah," Ron nodded.

"Oh I suddenly remembered!" Hermione exclaimed out of nowhere as they continued strolling along. "Guess what happened last night?"

Ron looked at her quizzically. "What?"

"Harry woke me up quite late at night carrying Ginny in. Apparently she had fallen asleep in his room or something like that, and he brought her back."

Ron gaped. "What?"

She nodded in satisfaction. "I know! Isn't that wonderful?" she rolled her eyes. "Now we just have to get them to admit they fancy each other."

Ron snorted. "That'll be the difficult part."

"I know!" she sighed, but still looked hopeful. "I think they'll do it soon enough though..."

"Yeah," he nodded, looking thoughtful. "I wonder what they're doing now?"

Meanwhile, Harry and Ginny were having another planning meeting in Ginny's room.

Ginny giggled. "Isn't it terribly ironic how they're getting 'alone' time for the sake of us having 'alone' time?"

Harry nodded hopefully. "Well since they've agreed not to argue anymore, they're probably getting along well."

"Yes," Ginny mused. "And Ron was carrying that book this morning, so he's probably already given it to her."

"Right. That's good then. She's probably very pleased with him at the moment."

"Mmhmm!" Ginny nodded enthusiastically.

A thoughtful silence ensued as the both sat, pondering over the situation of their friends.

"Oh Harry?"

"Yeah?" he looked up.

Ginny blushed slightly. "Thanks, you know, for bringing me upstairs last night," she said quickly. "And sorry for everything- you know, the twins and all."

He chuckled nervously, glancing at the door. "No problem. And the twins seemed," he paused. "Nice today... A bit suspiciously so," he glanced at the door again. "But I think they'll be alright as long as, you know, they don't find you on top of me, or vice versa, anytime soon."

She blushed in reply, giggling. "Oh god," she covered her face. "That was humiliating, to say the least."

"I know," he nodded. "Of all the times they had to barge in."

They went over plans some more, but to no avail. In fact, the most they were able to come up with was a ridiculous plan (Harry's idea) in which they would push Hermione off of a tall building and Ron would see this and zoom in on his broomstick and save her. Needless to say, they soon decided that the plan wasn't quite realistic.

"I'm bored," she said suddenly, throwing down her notebook. "There's nothing to plan with Ron and Hermione."

He nodded in assent. "They'll figure it out on their own sometime or another."

"So swimming then?" she asked expectantly.

"Sure thing." He left the room to change, and she did likewise.

He waited at the bottom of the stairs for her, but to his misfortune, Fred and George came over to chat with him.

"So what are you two doing?" Fred asked, glancing at Harry's attire.

"Swimming," he replied nervously, inching away from the twins.

Suddenly, Ginny came bounding down the stairs, clad in her swimsuit, a pair of shorts, a ridiculous pair of purple sunglasses and a wide smile.

Harry grinned.

The twins gasped.

"You cover yourself up right now, young lady!" George reprimanded.

She glanced down at her one-piece, her shorts, and her flip-flops with a baffled look.

"Going swimming with a boy like that!" Fred chastised, running over, grabbing her towel from her and draping it over her.

She stared at him. "What are you doing?!"

"And you!" George ran over to Harry, grabbing him by the shoulders and turning him around. "Don't you dare look at her in that way!" he shook a finger at Harry threateningly. "I saw that... that hungry look in your eyes!"

Harry gulped, quickly shutting his eyes. "Err..."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Ginny exploded, rolling her eyes in frustration. "You guys," She pointed at the twins, "Are doing it again! You're going into protective older brother mode again!"

"But Gin!" Fred protested.

"What?!" She exclaimed. "What do you expect me to wear to go swimming? Honestly!"

"Well you know Gin," George suggested tentatively. "I hear the retro look is very in style. Maybe you could wear one of those bathing suits, you know, with the skirt and the collar."

"I'm sure you'd look just as adorable!" Fred assured her. "And you'd be modestly dressed as well!"

She rolled her eyes, ran over to grab Harry's hand, and stomped out of the house, muttering, "Ugh!" under her breath.

Fred and George looked at each other for a moment, and then ran of the house after her, shouting, "Wait Ginny! You forgot to change!"


	19. That's A Bloody Mess

**Just a note to you all: If you haven't noticed, I kind of took a bit of a break from the Ginny/Harry romance and focused more on Ron and Hermione for the past two chapters. Don't panic now; it's just that I was a bit tired of them and wanted to write with different characters. And oh boy, of course we all want to see the Ron/Hermione romance progress, don't we? **

**Also, don't ask me what's going to happen or when it's going to happen. I DON'T outline my story at all. It takes me (on average) two hours or so to write a chapter, and when I can find time to sit down, I just start typing away- and whatever comes to mind goes into the story. I also don't revise, so if there are mistakes or I forgot something that happened earlier on, I apologize. **

**Okay, now you guys are absolutely amazing! Breaching the 200 review mark- WOW. I'm so frickin' happy =D!!! **

**Thank you to Tru Lys, possom2009, BrownPryde, AnA4ever, Nightwing 509, The Vampire Story Hunter, Sabrina, Hermionehp110, HPBeatles, mary-v, snowbabyjoe, skittish, Zeo and the Harvest Sprites, Ze-Cookie, WhyDoYouCare36, Saraiyu, and Luna Lovegood2 for ALL YOUR REVIEWS! Thank you thank you thank you!**

**ronnies gurl- You spoil me with flattering reviews =)! Thank you so much for being such a dedicated reader and reviewer. _Sniffles _What would I ever do without you? And no, I don't write the chapters out on paper first; I'm pretty bad at the whole outlining and drafts business. I kind of just write... and if it flows it flows. Well thanks for everything!**

**Jamie Bell- Hehe, thanks for your review! You're awesome... Anyway, YES I KNOW. I went to the new main library in my hometown and my goodness, it is amazing. And of course, I used part of it as the inspiration for my library (lots of glass- but no glass floors, thank god... and only 8 stories!). So there you go, and here's the next chapter. I hope you like it!**

**Kingmaker- Oh I know, the library was my idea of heaven. I felt terribly jealous of Ron and Hermione as I wrote it out. Thank you for your reviews; you rock!**

**Whippy Bird- Thanks for reviewing my story! Well, I tried to update every day, but I've gotten busier, so now occasionally I update every other day... but for the most part I try to update whenever possible. So cool; here's the new chapter!**

**Lightprincess- Eep! I'm happy for you and your love interest, lol! And your brothers- how funny. I'm glad you can relate to what Ginny's going through. Haha, well thanks for the awesome review. You rock!**

**Crookshankx- Oh no, YOU are awesome! Hehe, well thanks for reviewing! And no I will not tell you when they kiss (looks scandalized)! Lol, kidding, I'm sorry, but I just don't know. So when it happens, it happens, kay? Hehe, thanks for the spiffy review!**

**Bob-chan- Haha, thanks! My extensive vocabulary?! (Snorts) Not quite, but I try =)! I'm so happy you like the story so far; hopefully you'll like this next chapter!**

**Leoking- Ah, long review! =D Anyway, YES I guessed right and you're German (does a victory dance)! Hamburg, wow, that sounds amazing! I really want to go visit Europe; hopefully someday soon! Hmm, I'm actually not that much of a sports person, so I really don't follow soccer =(, sorry about that! Yes, but thank you for your review! I'm so glad you've been following my story; you've been such a dedicated reviewer! What would I ever do without you? Haha, anyway, here is the next chapter, and hopefully you'll like it!**

**Fireboy- Thanks for reviewing my story! You're so cool =D. Well, I really don't know where I come up with ideas for this story. I suppose I find them from snippets of my life, or weird things that I dream up. For instance, the library was partially based on the new library that was built in my hometown, and the playground scene a while back was written after I had gone with my mother's second grade class to play on their new playground. But anyway, that's pretty much it!**

**Elanor- Ah, English weather sucks? Aww, but it seems so much cooler over there! Haha, well anyway, thanks for your review! It helped me so much! The comment you made about flying gave me an idea about how to end the chapter, so THANK YOU. **

**A Harry and Ginny Dreamer- Well actually, its not so much that I ran out of ideas (because I never sit down to brainstorm ideas anyway; I just think of a sentence to begin with and it usually goes from there). I just decided to focus more on Hermione and Ron for a bit, so this chapter extends that. The kisses, I presume, should be coming soon (hopefully!). Not TOO soon (so not the next chapter, I'm sorry), but soon enough! Oh yes, and thank you for all your reviews! You're the greatest!**

**Alright, thank you guys! Here's the next chapter, specifically designed for all of you who love Ron and Hermione pairings! It's a bit shorter than usual, but that's because Harry and Ginny don't appear in this chapter (at all!). So here you go!**

Ron and Hermione walked along, visiting all the stores and finally stopping at the sweet shop. After a long time spent deciding, they finally left with several bags of candy, enough variation to satisfy the both of them.

After some more meandering as they munched through their sweets, they found themselves in front of a pet store. Hermione immediately dragged Ron inside, much to his dismay. Inside, the dank room was poorly lit and smelled of a strange mixture between dog hair and Lysol- the product of the wizarding world's air fresheners and too many animals in one room.

Behind a counter an old woman dozed off, drool coming out of her partially opened mouth and dripping onto the counter. And of course, covering almost every surface were cages housing a very diverse menagerie. Some creatures were so bizarre that Hermione found herself gasping in wonder for the second time that day as she gazed in awe at the translucent, shimmering bat-like creatures that fluttered their ethereal wings, opening their little mouths wide as soft melodies emitted from their throats.

"But Hermione," Ron whined, casting suspicious glances at the caged rats. "You know I don't trust rats anymore, and..." his gaze drifted over to a large tank of tarantulas. He shuddered, inching towards the door again.

"Come on, Ron," she persisted, taking hold of his sleeve. "They're harmless for the most part." She looked fondly at a cage of sleeping small white rabbits, similar to the ones that muggle magicians pulled out of their hats. Turning back to Ron, she smiled. "See?"

Ron stared.

Behind her back, the rabbits had turned sinister. One cracked its blood red eyes open, staring at Ron as it curled its upper lip back, revealing a row of sharpened fangs.

Ron gaped. "The rabbits are turning evil!" he exclaimed, jumping back in horror.

Hermione turned around, only to find the fluffy white creatures snuggling into each other, sighing softly in contentment, blearily blinking their (to Ron's astonishment) sleepy blue eyes.

"Ron," she rolled her eyes. "Stop being stupid. They are not turning evil." She leant over the cage, ignoring Ron's frantic warnings. "They're absolutely adorable!" She cooed, squealing in delight as one waddled its way over to her, nuzzling her hand with its nose.

Ron glared at it resentfully, fuming as its eyes temporarily flashed red when it looked towards him.

Hermione, however, was completely oblivious, happily making her way to where the owls were perched. As she passed by them, she stroked their feathers, giggling when they hooted softly at her. One owl, to her delight, even leaned forward to give her a light nip on the finger.

Ron, on the other hand, was not so happy. He stood uncomfortably aware of the little red eyes that were watching him. From time to time he would glance nervously at the rabbit cage, shuddering as they turned to him, big red eyes glaring, fangs bared.

"Look here, Ron!" Hermione flounced over to him excitedly, cupping in her hands a tiny owl chick. She giggled, "He's even smaller than Pig!"

He nodded, chuckling in reply as he tried to ignore that feeling of being perpetually watched. "Yeah, he's a tiny one," he answered, peering into her cupped hands to look at the little ball of fluffy feathers, curled up in her fingers.

She giggled approvingly and scurried off again to put the own back in its cage. "I think," she confided, pointing at the rabbit cage. "That I might get one of those. What do you think?"

Ron stared at her for a moment, a little panicked. "Well..." he searched for an alternative. "Didn't you like that owl better?"

She shook her head, making her way over to the rabbit cage, smiling down tenderly at the little bundles of white fur. "Aww..." she reached over to undo the latch on the cage.

Ron stood next to her nervously, shifting from foot to foot. He didn't know how, but he was almost certain that those little innocent looking creatures meant to do him serious harm.

The time of reckoning had come.

Hermione's nimble fingers lifted the latch, and she opened the cage door, prepared to pick one of the little darlings up and cuddle it. Instead, she was shocked to see five (for there were that many) little furballs whoosh past her as they leapt, sinking their teeth into Ron as they landed on him, making furious little hissing noises.

"AARRRGGGHH!" Ron jumped up and down in pain, trying desperately to shake off the little rabbits that were now in their most vicious state, their eyes huge and blood red, and their fangs sunken into his flesh. "Get them off, get them off, get them off!!!"

Hermione stared, mouth open in shock, then rushed over, grabbing one of the rabbits and trying to tug it off.

Of course, this only served to tear open more of Ron's flesh, and he immediately yowled in pain.

Upon hearing the racket that poor Ron as causing, the wrinkled old woman behind the counter started, waking up dazedly. She took one look at Ron and immediately leapt up, wand in hand, quickly and efficiently stunning the little rabbits one by one as they dropped to the floor with dull thuds.

Ron stood, panting as blood dripped from his multiple wounds (mostly on his arms, shoulders, and chest), staring in horror at the little rabbits lying on the floor. "Little bloodsucking monsters!" he cried in disgust.

The old woman turned, glaring at him. "Boy, you should've known better!" she chastised, shaking a gnarly finger at him. "That's a special breed of rabbit right there; they come from Zaire and are extremely rare-"

"Not to mention vicious," Ron muttered under his breath.

She continued. "They are extremely rare, and although can be the most loving and harmless creatures in the hands of females and children, they have an aversion to males beyond puberty," she glanced at Ron. "In fact, they are known to attack males at random, often ripping apart their flesh until they are stripped to the bone." She finished, and then bent down to pick up the rabbits and place them neatly back in their cages.

Ron and Hermione stood with their mouths open in shock.

They shuffled outside, Ron wincing a bit as Hermione stared at him guiltily. "Ron, I'm so sorry!" she pleaded earnestly. "I didn't know they'd attack you, and I'm honestly so sorry that I didn't believe you when you said that they were evil!"

He smiled back reassuringly. "It's okay, Hermione," he glanced down at his fresh wounds, his bloody, torn robe. "It wasn't too bad."

She gave him a knowing look, gently tugging on his sleeve as she led him to a nearby bench to sit down.

"Now you wait here," she instructed. "I'm going to get some water to clean your wounds, alright?"

He nodded, sitting idly as he watched her disappear into a nearby restaurant, shout something at the shocked waiter, and emerge satisfied with a glass of water and a napkin. She then proceeded to walk across the street to the pharmacy, which provided all types of wizarding cures for all ailments. Eventually, she came out again, this time with (surprisingly enough) a plain roll of gauze and adhesive bandages.

"Okay," she sat down beside him, carefully pouring some water onto the napkin. "Now," she looked down, blushing slightly. "You're going to have to take off your robe so that I can clean your wounds, alright?"

He nodded, discarding his robe with a wince. _Damn those little monsters_, he mentally cursed the rabbits.

She glanced at his torso, covered with deep gashes, bite marks and scratches and wasn't sure whether she wanted to recoil in horror or laugh at the irony that little fluffy rabbits no larger than guinea pigs had inflicted this.

Hermione began to wipe at his wounds with the napkin, hand shaking as the napkin became more and more bloodied. "You know," she laughed nervously. "I learned first aid a while back, but I've never really taken that well to blood."

He grinned back, despite the stinging as she cleaned up the blood. "Yeah, I'm quite a mess, huh?"

She shook her head. "I'm so sorry Ron," she began again. "I really didn't know they were ruthless little killers!"

He shuddered, remembering what the storeowner had said about being stripped to the bone. _Thank god she had waken up and stunned them._

She finished cleaning his wounds, then turned to the roll of gauze with concentration. "Okay," she breathed, looking determined. "Over and cross over, and over..." she rolled the gauze around his elbow snugly, finally tying it in a bow. "That's called a figure eight, or at least that's what they call it in the muggle first aid classes I took," she explained as she rolled gauze around his other wounds. "It's meant to keep the bandage at the joint I think, instead of coming right off as you move."

After covering all his larger wounds with gauze, she proceeded to sticking bandages on all his smaller scratches and little bite marks. "There!" she stepped back, proudly admiring her handiwork.

Ron stared down at himself and started laughing. For the most part, his upper body was immobilized by many yards of gauze wrapped around every wound, and bandages dotted the few places where skin was showing. "I look like one of those mummies!" he remarked, chuckling.

Hermione blushed. "Well it'll keep you from getting all infected!" she defended.

"Yeah," he grudgingly agreed, slipping into his robe again with some difficulty.

Hermione tried not to snicker when she saw poor Ron is his robe, sprinkled with bite marks and strange lumps jutting out here and there from the gauze. "Oh come on, let's go home, Ron," she smiled comfortingly. "We'll take off the bandages and find some magical means of healing you, alright?"

They made their way home, Hermione looking guiltily at Ron every few minutes when he grimaced.

He caught her concerned stares and sighed in exasperation. "Really Hermione," he assured her rather unconvincingly (as he was carefully trying to move his upper body as little as possible while walking, and was consequently walking rather stiffly). "It barely hurts at all!"

Shooting him a dubious look, Hermione continued walking.

Soon enough, they reached the Burrow, and Ron audibly sighed in relief. "Come on," he motioned to Hermione, leading her into the kitchen where he began rummaging through the medicine cabinet. "Ah, found it!" He pulled out a grayish cloudy potion, making a disgusted face as he turned to Hermione. "Taking a tablespoon of this quickens the healing process, I believe... so I shouldn't be all cut up and bleeding for more than a couple days. But it tastes terrible!"

Hermione rolled her eyes in reply, opening a drawer and pulling out a spoon. She took the potion from him, carefully, pouring a tablespoon out.

"Open your mouth," she instructed rather in a motherly fashion as she held out the spoon to him.

Reluctantly, Ron slightly parted his lips, scowling as she tipped the liquid from the spoon into his mouth. "Argh," he muttered, swallowing with great effort and running to fill a glass with water. "That's terrible stuff."

She, however, looked satisfied. "Well now we know you'll be alright," she remarked cheerily, washing the spoon, drying it and placing it back in the drawer. "So, feeling better?"

He gulped down the glass of water, and grinned at her. "I am now!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I meant your wounds."

"Oh," he glanced down at his still gauze wrapped cuts and gashes, shrugging. "Looks fine to me, except for the terrible job that someone did in dressing the wounds," he teased.

She huffed dramatically, trying not to smile. "Well next time," she replied haughtily. "I'll just let you die of some terrible infection, you ungrateful git."

He pouted at her. "Aww, but Hermione," he wheedled. "You'd miss me if I died, wouldn't you?"

She rolled her eyes in reply.

"Hah!" he shouted triumphantly. "You didn't deny it; you would!"

"Of course I would!" she snapped back, blushing slightly, then adding, "There are very few people I actually wish would die."

He smirked, snickering. "Would Malfoy be one of them?"

"I'm not telling," she raised an eyebrow playfully. "Because when he does die a very painful and mysterious death, you'll just use that against me."

"Ah," he nodded, chuckling. "Right. And you won't have anything to do with that death."

"Of course not!" she widened her eyes innocently. "He's just a poor misguided soul who um... hexed himself twenty times over."

They laughed, each happily imagining cursing Malfoy many times in their heads.

"Hermione?" Ron looked over at her. She had stopped laughing and now seemed deep in thought. "What are you thinking about?"

She bit her lip. "Ron, I want to go back to the library," she began. "But the glass floors were a bit... well frightening. So," she looked at him hopefully. "I thought maybe I could get used to heights, you know, maybe on a broom or something. Would you help me?"

He groaned in reply and began laughing. "Honestly Hermione," he patted her shoulder fondly. "You've got to be the only person I know who would fly for the sake of reading."

She glared at him. "Well," she huffed. "If you don't want to, that's fine. I'll do it on my own!"

"No," he assured her, chuckling. "I was kidding, Hermione. Of course I'll help you; you'd probably kill yourself if I let you fly alone. And who knows, maybe you'll even develop a love for quidditch after this, eh?" He winked at her.

She shook her head at him, smiling. "I wouldn't count on it."

"Well," he winced slightly as he stood up, but smiled at her concerned frown reassuringly. "I'll go grab a couple of broomsticks and we'll head out, alright?"

She nodded, sitting on the chair nervously. "Thanks Ron," she said rather awkwardly, biting her lip as she looked up at him.

He grinned down at her, patting her shoulder gently. "You know Hermione, I'd do anything for you."

He quickly strode upstairs, leaving a blushing and confused Hermione downstairs to interpret what he had just said.


	20. A Splash of Realization

**Hello guys... sorry it took me a while to update. I spent two more days in San Francisco saying goodbye to my cousin. It was pretty funny- everything was gone and being shipped to Virginia, so we had nothing to sit on, nothing to heat up food in, nothing to sit on... etc. Hmm... anyway, hope you're not too mad at me. This chapter was... well... hmm. Hard to write. And when you read it, you'll probably understand why. Argh. If you guys don't like it, just keep in mind that this is my first fic. Thank you for the EXCELLENT amount of reviews... geez you guys are wonderful!**

**Oh yes, and the evil rabbits were part inspired by Monty Python, part inspired by Bunnicula, which my little cousin was reading when I wrote this chapter. **

**Merci beaucoup: Brown Pryde, Elizabeth Keyes, Nightwing 509, The Vampire Story Hunter, Jess, Luna Lovegood2, Ze-Cookie, Tru Lys, yeknottemaster, Maria, Raquel, JNT, To Kill a Tear, armed, Padfoot Is ALIVE, HGandRHrforever and Sweet-Oklahoma. **

**JamieBell- Hahah, I love ya Margaret! You're such an awesome person! Well thanks for the spiffy review and I AM still waiting for your update (ahem). Lol. Oh and I read "Special" and reviewed it. Fantastic, I must say. FANTASTIC. **

**Bob-chan- Hehe, you wanted Harry and Ginny- YOU'VE GOT IT. Finally got out this chapter, so here you go!**

**Potterchica02- Ah! Another California girl, how fun! It's amazing that you read my whole story in one sitting- THANKS SO MUCH. Well hope you like this chapter!**

**Kingmaker- Haha, plot bunnies attacking a bunch of fangirls? Excellent! Lol, anyway, thank you for your awesome review (actually, thank you for being such a dedicated reviewer!). Here is the next chapter... Hmm... a hard one to write, but ah well. Hope you like it!**

**A Harry and Ginny Dreamer- Anti- Harry and Ginny friends? (Gasp) How dare they? Anyway, the characters are on summer vacation... So that's why they have so much free time. Lol. Look in my profile for more info about me, but just to let you know, I live in California. Fun! Alright, thanks for the review!**

**Obsessed87- I don't remember Hermione using magic in the last chapter; If I remember correctly, the woman in the pet store used magic to stun the rabbits, and the potion at home was created by Mrs. Weasley... Hmm, well anyway, thanks for your review! You rock!**

**Crookshankx- Haha, a little eager for some more Harry and Ginny eh? Well here you have it! Read and enjoy!**

**Shadow Fortune- You've got quite an imagination- dumping me in a bucket of mashed up cockroaches and donut holes?! Insane. Well I wouldn't want that to happen, so here is the next chapter!**

**WhippyBird- Haha, I love you for reviewing too! Anyway, here is the next chapter. More action? I don't know, you'll just have to read and see, won't you?**

**Zeo and the Harvest Sprites- Thanks so much for reviewing regularly, you rock! Hm... I'm glad you're liking the story, hope you continue reading it!**

**Lightprincess- Whoa, I want to meet your ex-killer bunny! Here is the next chapter! Hope you like it!**

**CherryBlossom08- Hmm, well I think Hermione's gotten less sensitive as the story has progressed. And no, I don't think you reviewed before, but THANKS for reviewing this chapter! Well here is more Harry and Ginny. What fun! Now read!**

**Fireboy- Fascinating! You're from England?! You've got to tell me more about it... Anyway, here is the next chapter; hope you like it!**

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**Tweek's Panda- Eep! Your review rocked! Well thank you for reading my story even if you didn't think there was going to be much to it. And thank you so much for sticking with it! I know the beginning kind of sucked (okay, it sucked a lot, but hey, this is my first fic), but I hope you think it's improved. Thank you, thank you!**

**Okay guys, thanks so much for all the reviews! Here is the next chapter; hope it doesn't disappoint anyone. Just keep in mind that this was probably the chapter that I've had the most difficulty writing. But hey, here it is! So go read, please? **

Harry and Ginny left the house, Ginny in a considerably better mood now that Fred and George were out of sight. "They're so ridiculous," she groaned, rolling her eyes. "I'm sorry that they threaten you, Harry."

Harry shrugged, trying to smile. "Ah, it doesn't really bother me," he lied.

She however, was not fooled. She rolled her eyes in amusement. "Right. That would be why you locked yourself in the bathroom last night."

They walked down the block; finally coming into what Harry was surprised to see was a community pool. Apparently, they were just as popular among wizards as they were muggles. Of course, there were a few differences, all advantages, Harry noted.

The water was clean, clearer than even any drinking water that Harry had ever seen in the muggle world. And of course, the protection spells around the pool to protect them from harmful UV rays were much more convenient than applying sunblock. Around the pool, many middle aged witches lounged together, gossiping as they glanced idly over at their children splashing in the pool.

Of course, this wasn't necessary, as whenever someone was under the water for more than two minutes, a beeping alerted the lifeguard on duty, who would glance up from her magazine with an annoyed look, point her wand in the pool and levitate the person from the water.  
  
After discarding her sunglasses, flip-flops and shorts, Ginny had eagerly jumped into the pool, happily resurfacing to cajole Harry into the water as well.

"Come on, Harry!" Ginny motioned from the pool, her head bobbing above the water as she shook her wet strands of hair from her face. "Just come on in!"

Harry gulped, trying not to look directly at her. He glanced over his shoulder yet another time, not sure whether to jump in and risk the twins coming out and killing him, or get on their good side by dragging Ginny out of the pool and clothing her in a nun's habit.

He turned towards Ginny again, her eyes sparkling as she looked up at him, pretending to be exasperated.

"Harry!" she called out, the sun beaming upon her wet hair in a way that he found rather enchanting. She glared at him sternly. "You get in here right now or else I'll have to drag you in!"

He chose the former.

Diving into the pool, he only briefly heard Ginny's excited squeal before he had plunged underwater, overwhelmed by the relief that the cool water provided on a hot summer day. He swam upwards, gasping for air as he broke the surface.

On seeing his wide grin, Ginny poked his arm. "See, Harry!" she rolled her eyes. "If you had only listened to me sooner, we wouldn't have wasted so much time."

He sputtered in defense. "Come on now Gin, it was only a couple minutes at the very most!"

She giggled, swimming over to hang onto the wall, as she grew tired of treading water. "Yes, Harry," she shook a finger at him playfully. "But those were a few minutes of our lives that are gone forever!"

He shook his head, making his way towards her. "You're so dramatic," he muttered.

"Well it's true!" she sniffed, looking at him with a superior gaze.

He chuckled, retorting, "Well now you're wasting time with this petty argument!"

Ginny looked scandalized. "Petty?" she blinked at him. "Petty?! You waste away my life and you call that petty?"

Unable to resist, Harry splashed her as she was in the middle of her complaint.

"You!" she coughed, wiping water from her eyes as she glared at him furiously. She looked so comical as she stood there, clinging to the wall of the pool, water dripping down her face, her wet red hair plastered to her head as she glared at him that he burst into laughter.

That, apparently, did not improve her mood. In a split second, she lunged at him, furious battle cry and all as she wrapped her arms around his neck in a very unladylike way, apparently intent on dragging him underwater.

Harry was caught off guard, more so by her arms encircling him in any form rather than the fact that she seemed out to kill him. Fortunately for him, her attempts to drag him under weren't quite as successful as she had hoped, and his head was only dunked underwater a couple times.

Of course, he could have easily escaped her attack, but he found her determined attacks on him rather amusing, the way her face would screw up in concentration as she willed all her strength towards pulling him under the water.

Finally, exhausted, she gave up, arms limply hung around his neck as she pouted at the back of Harry's head.

He turned around to grin at her. "God, you're a vicious one," he teased, watching her blush.

"Yeah," she laughed, letting go of him (for some reason, Harry felt a tiny bit of disappointment at this) and reaching over to grab the wall again. "Mum always used to yell at me, you know. But," she shrugged. "It isn't my fault. I had to be tough, you know, growing up in a family of six boys and all."

"I can only imagine," he chuckled, imagining Ginny as a toddler wrestling against her older brothers. Without thinking, he brought his hand up to the back of his neck where Ginny's arms had been a few minutes ago.

She watched, concerned. "Harry, did I hurt you?" she bit her lip worriedly.  
  
"No," he blushed slightly, averting his eyes.

"Okay," she sighed contentedly. "I wonder how Ron and Hermione are getting along?"

Harry chuckled. "I don't know... Ron's never really entered a library of his own accord."

She giggled in reply. "Yeah, I know. I really can't imagine him allowing Hermione to tutor him in the middle of summer."

"Mm..." he winked suggestively. "Depends on what you mean by 'tutor'."

"Harry!" she gave him a shocked disapproving look while trying not to giggle. "You and that dirty mind of yours."

"Hey," he defended himself, smirking. "I didn't say anything."

She smacked his arm playfully, covering her mouth with one hand as she giggled. "You're terrible."

"Yeah, I know."

"You have absolutely no shame."

"Yeah I know." The corners of his mouth twitched upwards in a smile as he watched her become frustrated.

"You live to annoy me, don't you?" she pouted, glaring at him questioningly.

He shrugged and grinned at her. "Yeah," he ran a hand through his wet hair. "That's about it."

"Argh!" she turned away from him dramatically, crossing her arms over her chest in a highly annoyed fashion.

"Oh come on Gin," he floated over to her. "I was just teasing."

She refused to look at him. "Right." "Come on," he coaxed; smirking as he realized that she was trying very hard not to smile. "Just a smile?"

She turned to glare at him, her lips pursed in a disapproving frown. "No."

He advanced on her, grinning mischievously.

She eyed him warily.

"I could find ways to make you smile," he warned, smirking at her.

"Nuh uh," she stuck out her tongue at him stubbornly.

"Yuh huh," he grinned, launching himself at her and tickling her.

"No!" she squealed, squirming. Unfortunately, his attacks did not fare well with her in water, and she panicked, not able to continue treading water as her head dunked underwater several times.

A bit alarmed, Harry stopped tickling her, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her up. She coughed, gasping for air as she pulled herself up by putting her arms around his neck.

_Oh my god_, she blinked after having stopped coughing. She stared bashfully at Harry's face, a few inches away from her own. _Too close... too close to Harry_, she blushed.

Harry too was at a loss for words. He blinked at Ginny with her slightly awed expression and unconsciously tightened his arms around her waist, pulling her closer.

_So... close_, Ginny gazed upwards to look at Harry, who was staring at her with an expression she couldn't decipher.

_I like Ginny Weasley?_ Harry's inner voice asked in disbelief as he looked down at Ginny, her face so close, and her mouth partially opened in shock or anticipation- he couldn't tell._I like Ginny Weasley_. For some reason, this confession to self didn't shock him as much as he imagined it would.

Ginny stared wide-eyed at Harry. "I..." she started to whisper, but stopped when he lowered his face closer to hers.

_Closer..._  
  
_Almost there..._

She shut her eyes.

_ Toot!!!_

"NO INAPPROPRIATE DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION IN THE POOL!"

Harry and Ginny jumped back, flustered at the lifeguard's harsh bark.

"Err..." Harry stammered, turning redder than he ever thought possible.

"Oh god," Ginny whispered to herself, mortified as she hid her face in her hands. She peeked through her fingers, glancing around the pool.

All the children had stopped playing and splashing about in the pool and were now staring, wide-eyed at Harry and Ginny. Even the middle-aged witches sitting around gossiping had quieted, watching the two teenagers with interest.

Ginny smiled weakly at them, mumbling under her breath, "Oh dear god, Mum's going to hear about this one."

Harry tried to avoid eye contact with everyone, especially Ginny.

"Harry," Ginny murmured, not quite looking at him either. "Perhaps we should go home."

"Err," he replied, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah... we should."

She nodded, biting her lip. "So, the showers are over that way," she pointed, not daring to look at him.

Harry concentrated on the direction her finger was pointing. "Uh huh," he said with some effort. "Thanks."

"Yeah," she muttered in reply, pulling herself out of the pool. "No problem."

They disappeared into the showers, and had Harry been observant, he would've taken great interest in the self-cleaning showers. However, he found his thoughts drifting back to Ginny and their 'incident' in the pool.

"Stupid," he berated himself. "Why'd you do that?"

Ginny was equally mortified. She walked into the shower room and threw her things on a bench and laughed bitterly at herself. "What were you expecting, Gin?" she shook her head.

After their showers, during which they both had time to brood, they came out, ready to go home.

Ginny looked at Harry awkwardly, biting her lower lip. "So, home then?"

He nodded in reply, and they walked down the road in a very awkward silence. After ten minutes, the silence was almost unbearable, and Ginny was desperate to break it.

"Umm," she floundered, trying to think of something to say. Finally she laughed weakly. "Harry, you aren't going to be like this just because I fell into you at the pool, are you?"  
  
Harry immediately recognized what she was trying to do. "Of course not," he replied with the same fake smile. "I was just thinking about... ermm... Ron and Hermione."

"Of course," she continued the conversation, though her voice sounded a bit strained. "I'm sure they're getting along wonderfully."

"-And gotten past that awkward stage," Harry couldn't help from saying a bit resentfully.

She turned to look at him, the expression on her face contemplative. "Hmm..." she opened her mouth to say something, but immediately shut it again, turning away.

"What?" Harry asked, curious. "Nothing," she stared at her feet.

"I was just," she shrugged. "Thinking."

He nodded absently, willing himself not to blush at the mere thought of her. "Yeah..." They once again continued, both desperate to reach the Burrow.

Finally they were home, and Ginny sighed in relief as she opened the door. "I'm going to go change," she muttered before disappearing upstairs.

Harry stared after her for a moment and went upstairs as well, shuffling into Ron's room with a sigh. He chuckled softly to himself. "I fancy Ginny," he mused aloud. "Who would've known?"

Meanwhile, Ginny was in her room, flopping on her bed after having already changed.

"Ugh," she grabbed her diary from her dresser drawer, and flipped back to the beginning. "Imagine that," she laughed bitterly. "Feelings from first year are coming back."

She sighed, turning her head to look out the window.

Suddenly, she started up.

_Was that Hermione? Standing on the lawn over there with a broomstick in her hand while she gazed up at Ron?_

She blinked, scrambling off the bed and tossing her diary back into the dresser drawer. Without the least bit reservation, she burst into Ron's room, where a contemplative Harry Potter sat on the bed.

Needless to say, he was quite surprised.

"Harry!" she gasped. "Look out the window!"

He glanced out the window and immediately his eyes widened. "Err..." he laughed incredulously, running a hand through his hair. "That's not Hermione, is it?"

Ginny ran over to stand next to him, watching as Ron zoomed about on his broomstick. "She's not going to actually try flying, is she?" she whispered.

Harry shrugged, still in shock. Finally, he turned to Ginny, grinning. "I suppose she just has a soft spot for Ron."

Watching Hermione and Ron, Ginny giggled in reply, relieved that the awkwardness that had followed the incident at the pool was gone. "Yeah, well, I suppose my brother just has that legendary Weasley charm."

Harry snorted, giving her a skeptical look. "Ron? Charming?" He shook his head.

"Well," Ginny shrugged. "I suppose you're right about Ron. But the rest of the Weasleys on the other hand," she gave a superior smirk. "Are just the most charming creatures on earth."

He looked at her for a moment, feeling himself redden. "You know," he muttered, finally tearing his eyes away from her. "That just might be true."


	21. Confronting Your Fears

**Thank you to my awesome reviewers! Unfortunately, I will probably not be reviewing as much as I used to because, alas, my parents have restricted my computer time to an hour a day and submitted me to 'how to be a proper young lady' boot camp. Well, not really, but they've written out a pretty strict schedule. Sewing, cooking, housework, piano... etc. Anyway, I've also a ton of work for red cross to do, so I probably will have very limited time to write. **

**Anyway, thank you for the amazing reviews!**

**Luna Lovegood2, HGandRHrforever, BrownPryde, The Vampire Story Hunter, Ze-Cookie, cherryblossom08, starchick, lightprincess, possom2009, skittish, serap-89, teknocat, Tru Lys, obsessed87, mary-v, and iloveharry, thank you so much for your reviews!**

**Crookshankx- Here's more! Yeah I know, the lifeguard was mean. Hopefully, we'll have a little more happening soon.**

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**Kingmaker- Thank you! I'm glad you liked that chapter! Yeah, I know, the kiss being stopped was a bit predictable, but hey, I couldn't have let them kiss right then and there! Lol, hm... anyway, thanks for being such a cool reviewer!**

**Jamie Bell- Ooh yay! Thanks for keeping with my story; btw, I'm expecting you to update YOURS soon. Haha, alright... **

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**Tweek's Panda- Oh wow, I am so flattered! Hmm... I'm very glad you think my story has a strong voice to it; that is such a huge compliment! Anyway, you rock, and keep on reviewing!**

**EmeraldDream1- Hehe, I'm so glad you like my first story. Anyway, here's the next chapter, so read and enjoy!**

**She-Who-Snogs-Weaesly-Boys- I've changed the rating at your suggestion! Thanks, I forgot about that. I have updated, so don't you dare stick your ninja-leapard suit on me =D. **

**Elie- Oh yes, well I was tired of reading the spontaneous passionate lovemaking (so bizarre, especially for my little innocent schoolgirl mind). So here you go! Another chapter for you to read!**

**Potterchica02- I live about an hour's ride away from San Francisco... Haha, I know I'm evil. But I didn't want them to kiss just yet. So here is yet another chapter!**

**Leoking- Yaay! I'm glad I've convinced you of the Harry/Ginny pair! Did you have fun partying over the weekend? Lol. Hmm... no kissing is not forbidden (at least I don't think so?), but I needed to stop the kiss somehow, and well, I had been reading through my red cross code of conduct which stated "no inappropriate displays of affection during meetings or events" which I found absolutely hilarious, so that's the story. Thank you for keeping with my story and reassuring me that my writing doesn't suck! You rock! Okay, so I answered your questions in an email... because I don't want to give out my name here. Shh... Alright, here is the next chapter.**

**Alexandrea- Yay, you're back! Story is NOT ending (thank god!), so you've got more to read! Yes, so keep on reading and reviewing! **

**Fireboy- Why thank you for putting me on your favorite authors list!!! I'm incredibly flattered and honored! Hmm... well (if you've ever been to America), are there any huge cultural differences between England and America? I'm just very curious. Here's the next chapter; hope you like it!**

**Well there you go... Another chapter, some more fun, and Hermione on a broomstick! Goodness, what will happen? I guess you'll just have to read and see... and don't forget to review when you're done!**

"Ron," Hermione looked at him dubiously, watching as he came closer to hover just above her. "I don't know if I can do this."

He grinned down at her reassuringly, coming even closer until he was next to her, his feet brushing the grass. "Come on Hermione, you can do it," he coaxed.

She took a deep breath, calming herself, and then swung one leg over the broomstick tentatively. "Okay," she bit her lip nervously.

"Good," he thought for a moment. "Now let's go up, alright? Not too high at first," he added, on seeing her panicked expression. "I promise."

His broom took off effortlessly, zooming up a little ways until he was hovering about five feet off the ground.

Hermione stood below him, still biting her lip nervously. "That's not too high, I guess," she grudgingly admitted.

"So come on up now," he sat patiently. "I know you can fly, Hermione."

A look of grim determination crossed her face, and he couldn't help but smile. _This is Hermione at her best,_ Ron mused. _That's why I admire her; she's such a strong character._

From below, Hermione was cautiously making her way upwards with one hundredth of the speed that Ron had used.

After considerable time spent watching her inch her way upward, Ron found himself sitting next to her as they both hovered in the air. "Not so bad, eh?" he grinned at her.

She smiled easily back, but he noticed that she still held the broomstick in her hand as though her life depended on it, her knuckles turning white.

_Actually_, he corrected himself. _She probably does think that her life depends on it.  
_  
Looking down, Hermione warily swung one leg, and then turned back to Ron proudly. "It's not too bad."

"Yeah," he chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "But mind you, the library is twenty stories high... so we've got quite a ways to go."

She paled considerably, but after a moment, turned to him with her original resolve. "Alright," she nodded, her jaw set in that determined way that Ron found rather adorable. "Let's go up higher then."

He shrugged, zooming off about another ten feet. "Try this," he commanded, though he flashed her a reassuring smile.

Looking up, Hermione gulped. _Fifteen feet off the ground_... she smiled back at Ron weakly. _I can do this... I know I can..._ Slowly, she made her way up, not daring to look down. Rather, she concentrated on Ron, hovering... at the moment, a mere five feet away.

_ Almost there..._

She held her breath, willing herself to go up a little higher.

And there she was!  
  
She hovered beside Ron, glowing with pride, her eyes focused on his face.

"Hermione," he grinned knowingly at her. "You've got to look down too. That's the whole point, right? You can't go into the library and simply stare at the floor above. How would you ever be able to look at those books on the lower shelves?"

She glared at him, tightening her grip on the broomstick. "That's not funny, Ron," she muttered.

"Just a glance," he persuaded. "That's all."

She ventured a glance down, and immediately squeaked in terror at the height, unable to look away from the ground. "Ron," she said, her voice unsteady. "I'm terrified."

"It's alright," Ron watched her reaction with some dismay. "Just calm down," he grinned at her, joking lightly. "Do you think you can go up another twenty feet, maybe?"

She gave him a withering glare in reply, clutching the broomstick even tighter.

Chuckling, Ron began to descend. "Okay, we'll go down then," he called over his shoulder. "And later on we can try again." He reached the ground, looking up to see Hermione still hovering where he had left her.

"Ron," her voice wavered, as she stayed immobilized on her broom, looking extremely panicked. "I don't think I can come down."

"Sure you can," Ron exclaimed. "You got yourself up there; now just fly down!"

"No," she seemed on the verge of hysteria, looking down at him, her eyes wide with terror. "I really can't, Ron."

"Just," he thought for a moment, wondering how to instruct her. "Well, you know how to come down, so just tilt your broom downward and fly."

She shook her head slightly, and stayed right where she was. "I'm scared to move," she whispered, looking a bit ashamed.

Ron sighed and hopped back on his broom, smoothly flying back up until he was next to her again.

She gave him a weak smile but stayed on her broom, still refusing to budge an inch.

"If you don't move," he informed her, smiling a little. "You'll be out here until tomorrow morning."

"No," she shook her head, giving him a stubborn smile. "You're going to be out here with me if I get stuck here."

"Ah," he pretended to look disappointed. "Then I suppose I'd better find a way to get you down."

"Get me down then!" she cried, still looking rather panicked.

"Oh yeah," he grinned sheepishly. "Right. Now you're sure you can't come down by yourself?"

"Absolutely certain," she replied dryly, glancing down with a shudder.

"It's not very far," he wheedled, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "Hey!" he brightened. "How about we go down at the same time?"

She hesitated, biting her lip. "Well, I suppose..."

He tilted downwards, preparing for a slow descent.

She followed his example and began hyperventilating at the movement of the broom. Eyes squeezed shut, she whimpered, clutching the broom tighter. "I can't do it," she managed to squeak out.

Ron stared at her helplessly, unsure of what to do. "Umm," he floundered, scratching his head. "We've got to get you down somehow."

She replied sarcastically, "No Ron, I just wanted to stay up here forever. The view's lovely."

He grinned, much to her aggravation. "Hey," he shrugged, winking at her. "If that's what you want." Giving her a little wave, Ron zoomed back down, leaving her hanging in the air behind him.

"No!" she shrieked desperately. "Ron, wait!" She leaned over, gasping slightly as she stared down at him. "Come back..." she pleaded, eyes wide with terror.

He didn't hesitate. A second later, he was hovering by her side, close enough so that his shoulder brushed hers. "Are you alright, Hermione?" he asked, concern apparent on his face.

She bit her lip and shook her head, a tear leaking out of her eye. "Oh," she muttered, brushing it away. "This is ridiculous. I can't believe I'm being so cowardly." She laughed bitterly. "Yeah, facing Voldemort is no problem, but ten feet off the ground and I'm ready to surrender."

"Aww Hermione," Ron patted her on the back. "Don't say that. You know, you're one of the bravest people I know."

She gave him a doubtful look.

"Really!" he persisted. "Look, you're one of the most amazing people I know. You've done countless things that no other witch has ever done. And just because you have one little fear doesn't mean that you aren't a brave person. I mean, you're afraid of heights, and well," he smiled sheepishly. "I've got spiders."

She gave him a watery smile.

"There, now let's get you down."

With a fluid motion, he quickly swung over until he was sitting on the back of her broom, chuckling a bit as she flinched, watching his broom fall to the ground.

"Okay," he murmured soothingly, wrapping his arms around her. _Thank god she can't see me_, he thought, blushing. "Now, let's try this again."

Hermione nodded, blushing as she leaned back into him. "Um, what?"

"Do you want to go down?"

"Um," she squeaked, "No, I think I should get used to being up high, you know?" _Dear god... his arms are around me. His arms are around me! _

"Um..." Ron coughed, unable to believe his good luck. "Alright then, let's fly around, shall we?"

From inside, Ginny and Harry watched the two delightedly.

"They're so adorable!" Ginny squealed, gazing out the window dreamily.  
  
Harry chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "It's like Ron seduced her or something," he joked, watching Ron with admiration.

Ginny rolled her eyes, ignoring him. "Well, I think it's splendid that they're finally," and here she emphasized the word 'finally', "getting along."

Nodding in reply, Harry watched Hermione and Ron zoom about happily on the broom, Hermione's expression having gone from one of pure terror to contentment.

"Harry," Ginny hopped away from the windowsill, skipping over to the door. "Are you getting hungry?"

"Yeah," he replied. "You know, from swimming and all."

They both blushed.

Ginny laughed nervously, biting her lip as she purposely avoided eye contact with him. "Yeah, from swimming," she muttered.

Watching her, Harry felt a mixture of confusion and disappointment. The playful atmosphere had disappeared and the awkwardness left was apparent.

"Let's go then," he said abruptly, walking out the door. His grin was forced as he walked past her, shuffling into the hallway.

Ginny stood by the door, biting her lip. _The incident in the pool wasn't my fault was it?_ Her guilty conscience plagued her. _Maybe he didn't try to kiss me. Maybe I tried to kiss him!_ Her eyes widened. _Oh no..._

They walked downstairs in absolute silence, each glancing over at the other from time to time, trying to figure out what they were thinking.

"So," Ginny strode into the kitchen, emerging a moment later with a couple sandwiches. "Is ham okay?"

He nodded, sitting down awkwardly. "Yeah, thanks."

"Oh come on," she tried desperately to lighten the mood. "How about we go outside? It's a lovely day."

"But," he gestured out the window, grinning a bit. "What about Ron and Hermione? We wouldn't want to, um," he lowered his voice. "Disturb the lovebirds, would we?"

"Of course not!" she replied cheerily, balancing the two plates and glasses of water haphazardly. "That's why we're going to eat on the front porch."

Harry rushed over, grabbing the plates from her. "Sounds great."

"Mmhmm!" she nodded enthusiastically, making her way towards the front door.

They sat on the porch next to each other, munching away happily. To the relief of both Harry and Ginny, they easily slid back into comfortable conversation without the awkward silences of earlier.

"Hermione and Ron should be together by the end of the week, I should expect," Harry remarked between bites.

Ginny nodded, swallowing. "Yeah, they seem to be quite close to admitting their feelings," she giggled mischievously.

"Well," Harry smirked. "I'm not saying that we just let things happen. That, I think, might take longer."  
  
Her eyes widened, and she pretended to be shocked. "Oh Harry!" she covered her mouth with a hand dramatically. "You don't mean that we're going to interfere, do you?"

"That my dear," he replied suavely, much to her amusement, "Is precisely what I plan to do."

"Hmm," she tilted her head thoughtfully as she bit her lip, her hair falling over her face.

Harry, who found this small movement to be absolutely entrancing, blushed, looking away.

"Oh I know!" she leapt up. "We shall, of course, get Hermione stuck somewhere high, like on the roof, and have brave Ron come to the rescue!"

Harry eyed her dubiously. "How in the world would we do that?"

She sat back down, looking a bit deflated. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "But certainly we could do it. I mean, suppose we give her a sleeping draught and put her on the roof. She'd just believe that she sleepwalked up there."

Still looking doubtful, Harry pondered over the plan. "Well, I suppose. But she's never been one for sleepwalking before."

"Well," Ginny giggled. "This is a week for strange sleeping patterns right? First she has dreams about confessing her undying love to you-"

Harry shuddered.

"- And then she sleepwalks."

"What if we get caught?"

"Oh," Ginny rolled her eyes. "We won't. It'll be in the middle of the night! What could go wrong?"

"I suppose," Harry agreed reluctantly.

"Yoo hoo!"

They both turned in surprise to see an elderly witch walking down the sidewalk, enthusiastically waving her cane at them.

"Do you know her?" Harry whispered, watching the woman curiously.

Ginny bit her lip. "I don't know. She might be one of the neighbors." She raised her voice to reply to the woman. "Hello!"

"Now is that little Ginny Weasley?!" The witch continued, hobbling towards them. "I heard that," here she winked exaggeratedly. "You and that boy," she waved in Harry's direction with her cane. "Were snogging away in the pool this afternoon!"

Ginny reddened, eyes widening.

Harry gaped.

"Really?" Ginny finally managed to stammer out, giving a nervous laugh. "Where did you hear that?"

"Well," the woman looked thoughtful for a moment. "I heard it from Mrs. Riley down the street who heard it from Mrs. Berger, who in turn heard it from Mrs. Fera, who heard it from her children who were there this afternoon playing with Mrs. Orson's children who can vouch that it did happen," she finished.

"Oh..." Ginny replied weakly. "I suppose the whole neighborhood knows, huh?"

"Yes," the witch smiled at her cheerily. "Imagine, our dear little Ginny snogging famous boys like Harry Potter at the pool! Your folks will be so proud!" And with that, she hobbled away, waving goodbye at them with her cane.

Ginny and Harry stared at each other, both red.

"Well," Harry finally chuckled shakily. "I don't suppose Fred and George will be happy with me now."


	22. What Could Go Wrong?

**Oh goodness, I have so little time to update nowadays. For those of you who wanted to know my schedule, I wake up, I eat breakfast and shower, I do house chores here and there (vacuuming, dusting, cleaning bathrooms, etc.), I practice piano, I learn how to sew, I learn how to cook Vietnamese cuisine, etc. etc. So its a packed schedule. And with one hour of computer time a day, its hard to find time to write. Especially because a lot of my computer time goes to red cross work. The other night I was up until 2 in the morning working. I kid you not.**

**Anyway, thank you for reviewing and supporting me even though it takes me so long to update. You guys rock so much! Here's the next chapter, and though its shorter and well, pretty poorly written to tell you the truth, you guys'll have to bear with me for a while. I'll try to take more time to write, but this chapter took a REALLY long time. I literally wrote in five minute intervals, so if it doesn't fit together, you now know why. **

**Thanks to: BrownPryde, The Vampire Story Hunter, Tru Lys, Serap-89, Blackcat69, cherryblossom08, possom2009, Alexandrea, Potterchica02, Ashton Rushing, lightprincess, Lid'l Rogue, armed, Ze-Cookie, obsessed87, ghost123, teknocat, Whydoyoucare36, SailorCrystalMoon15, Goldilocks31890, rafael, harhermro22, Luna Lovegood2, Tweek's Panda and Stella!!! Thank you thank you thank you! You guys are absolutely amazing!**

**A Harry and Ginny Dreamer- Thank you so much for being patient and understanding about my new circumstances. I'm glad that you've taken the time to follow this story! You're the greatest!**

**Whippy Bird- Haha, thanks for the support. Anyway, curiously enough, I've never had any crazy neighbor ladies wave their canes at me (darn... wouldn't that be an experience?!). But you know, I'm looking out for weird moments like that. Hope you like this chapter, and THANK you for reviewing!**

**JamieBell- Why yes, everything COULD go wrong with their Hermione plan. Thanks for the idea... I'll be sure to use it when I start writing other stories! You're like a mentor to me, thank you so much! Okay, I'm going to go see if you updated now!**

**Crookshankx- Thanks! I hope you have fun this summer too! Anyway, yes, I know they need to kiss, lol. It's starting to bother me too, and I'm writing this! How ridiculous... Well thanks for being so awesome! **

**EmeraldDream1- Ah yes, but the torturous anticipation just adds to the fun, doesn't it? I'm excited for what will happen... hopefully I'll be able to update soon! Thanks for your awesome review! I'm glad you're likin' this story.**

**Kingmaker- Thanks, I'm glad you liked that chapter! This one's a little shorter (and I know it took me forever to update, I'm sorry!), but hopefully it won't be completely hated. Anyway, you're right about parents micromanaging their students; but the thing is, they really do want me to be successful but uncreative. Creativity doesn't really count for much in my family. I'll show them my art, writing, or excitedly tell them that I got onto newspaper, and they'll ask about how mu alpha theta (math honor society- HAH) is going. How ridiculous. Well, thank you for listening to my rant and reviewing for me!**

**Ronnies Gurl- Hmm, glad you like it! I don't know about a sequel, lol. If I feel the need for one, I will, but I highly doubt it. But I WILL think about starting other stories. Okay? So don't worry...**

**Fireboy- Hmm, well hopefully I can visit England one day and see these cultural differences for myself. Anyway, thanks for continually reviewing my story! You rock!**

**Well here is the next chapter... (Sigh) This depresses me- not being to update regularly. But ah well, enjoy and be patient!**

"Oh my lord," Mrs. Weasley bustled into the dining room from the kitchen, winking at Ginny and Harry. "You'll never guess what I heard from Mrs. Jones down the road."

Harry gulped.

"Mum!" Ginny cut in. "I'm sure you heard that, erm... little Peggy from two doors down broke her leg, right?"

Mrs. Weasley gave her a quizzical look. "No dear, that was two months ago, remember?"

She continued as she set down platters of food. "I heard the most interesting thing. Did you go swimming this afternoon, dear?"

Harry coughed.

Ginny smiled weakly, avoiding eye contact with her mother. "Why yes," she replied, stabbing away at her piece of roast beef. "I did. Why?"

"Well," sitting down, Mrs. Weasley beamed at Harry, much to his discomfort. "I heard that you and Harry were at the pool this afternoon and, well," she chuckled. "Gave the others there quite a show."

Harry choked, midway through swallowing a piece of bread.

Ron turned to Harry, whacking him on the back. "You alright there?" he asked, concerned.

"Yes, Harry," Hermione added, giving him a disapproving look. "You really must remember to chew thoroughly."

Gulping down some water, Harry looked back up. "I'm fine," he replied weakly, forcing a smile in Ron's direction. "Thanks mate."

"Anyway, Mum," Fred prodded, shooting Harry a suspicious glare. "What do you mean? What happened at the pool?"

"Nothing!" Ginny burst out before her mother could say anything. "Nothing happened."

Mrs. Weasley gave her a knowing smile. "Well yes dear. I guess you really don't want to tell your brothers about your escapades with young men."

Ron and Hermione exchanged smirks.

Ginny squeaked, turning red.

The twins turned to Harry menacingly.

"What?" Fred exploded. "Escapades?!"

Harry gave them frightened looks in reply. "Now, it's not what you think..."

"But-" Fred stopped, noticing that the whole table was staring at him. "Well, Harry," he lowered his voice, smiling forcedly at the rest of the family. "I suppose we'll have a little chat with you later."

Harry nodded mutely, turning back to his dinner with dread.

"Harry," Ginny whispered from beside him, ignoring the glares that the twins gave her. "Don't worry about it. They wouldn't hurt you."

He glanced at the twins, who were currently muttering under their breaths, shooting him dark looks.

"Of course not; they're harmless," he replied mockingly.

Ginny smiled at him and returned to her dinner, not having caught the sarcasm.

_Apparently,_ Harry thought miserably, _She still thinks her brothers mean no harm_. _Well_, he glanced at the twins. _They certainly look like they're about ready to slit my throat in the next second or so._

Hermione and Ron devoured their dinners with vigor, having had an exhausting day.

"Great stuff, Mum!" Ron mumbled, mouth full of food.

"Yes Mrs. Weasley!" Hermione agreed enthusiastically. "This is really wonderful!"

Harry on the other hand, looked a bit sullen, while Ginny was just embarrassed.

Unfortunately for her, Mrs. Weasley found it necessary to send her little reminders all through dinner with winks and suggestive statements.

After dinner, Harry, surprisingly enough insisted on helping Mrs. Weasley clear the table and wash the dishes. Much to his dismay, the twins did not leave; rather, they waited patiently outside the kitchen for him.

"What are you two doing?" Mrs. Weasley asked curiously on seeing her two sons slouched against a wall.

"Oh nothing, Mum," George replied. "We're just waiting for Harry. Wanted to have a chat with him, you know?"

"Yeah!" Fred joined in. "We haven't had much time to talk to Harry at all this week, and we thought we'd have some time with him, play a little wizard's chess or something."

Mrs. Weasley beamed. "Well I wouldn't want to be keeping you boys!" She pushed Harry towards the twins despite his protests. "Now Harry, you're being such a polite darling, but I know you'd really rather go off with those two. Off you go now!"  
  
And with that, Harry was shoved out of the kitchen and right into the twins.

"Err..." he stared at them wide eyed, backing away. "Sorry there."

George, without replying, grabbed him by the collar, dragging him unceremoniously upstairs.

"Umm..." Harry interjected as he was hauled upstairs. "Can't we talk downstairs or something?"

"I don't think so," Fred replied tersely, opening the door to the twins' room. Harry gulped as the pulled him inside, shutting the door behind them quickly.

"So," he grinned weakly. "What did you two want to talk about?"

Fred paced about the room, his face unusually solemn. "Look Harry," he began, sounding a bit agitated. "We like you."

"In fact," George added. "We'd rather you get to Ginny than most other blokes."

Harry blinked. "Err... thank you."

"But..." Fred shook a finger at Harry threateningly. "You dare... dare hurt my little sister-"

"-And you'll die," George ended for him.

"Erm..." Harry fidgeted nervously, wondering if his life was going to end soon. "Okay."

"No toying with her emotions," Fred instructed sternly.

Gulping again, Harry nodded mutely.

"So," George continued. "Either you fancy her or you don't. There'll be no in between with our Ginny."

Another nod.

"Alright then," Fred patted Harry on the back jovially, if not a bit violently. "Now that you understand, we won't be bothering you too much."

Harry smiled weakly.

"But of course," George added. "If you dare hurt Ginny..."

"Then why, we'll probably chop you off into many little pieces-"

"-Or lock you up with a dozen rabid rats..."

"-Or poison your meals..."

"Well," George finished off. "I think you understand." He smirked on seeing Harry's pale face, whipping out his wand and brandishing it about threateningly.

"Yeah," Fred held out a hand to Harry, who warily took it. "Well, you can go now. We just wanted to, you know, give you a little warning."

"Erm..." Harry replied, getting up. "Well I'll certainly remember that."

"Good!"

The twins, having gone back to their jovial selves, grinned widely at Harry, gave him a couple friendly pats on the back, and showed him out of the room.

Harry stumbled outside the room, feeling relieved. "Well they didn't kill me," he muttered to himself.

Ginny poked her head out of her room, giving him a small smile. "That didn't go too badly, I hope?"

"No," he replied, looking a bit confused. "It went quite well in fact."

"Splendid!" she giggled as she motioned for him to come into her room. "Now you've got to help me with Hermione and Ron."

He shuffled inside a bit warily. As soon as he stepped inside, he stopped and stared.

Hermione was sprawled on the floor, apparently unconscious.

Ginny laughed nervously. "Well, step one of our plan is done."

"Our plan?" Harry asked incredulously. "What'd you do to her?"

Twirling a few strands of her hair around a finger, Ginny grinned sheepishly. "Well, I think I doubled the sleeping draught..."

Harry scratched his head. "How'd you do that?"

"Well," she bit her lip again. "You see, I left it in that glass of water that's always by her bedside..."

He nodded, prompting her to continue.

"And anyway, apparently, she drank it and then refilled it for later, and well," laughing shakily, Ginny waved her hand towards an empty glass of water sitting innocently on Hermione's bedside table. "She wasn't asleep yet, so I thought maybe she'd dumped the old water away for a new glass or something, and just to be safe I added more draught, and well... here she is."

They both looked down at Hermione, peacefully asleep in the middle of the room.

"Erm," Harry nudged her with his foot. "How long do you think she'll be out for?"

Silence.

"Gin?"

"Oh fine then," she reddened. "I messed up, alright? She'll be out for a full eighteen hours, at least."

Harry stared at her, his mouth partially open in shock. "Eighteen hours?!" he hissed, casting a glance at the closed door. "What in the world are we supposed to do?!"

She threw her arms up in the air in frustration. "I don't know! I was hoping you could do something about it!"

"Well," he sighed. "I suppose we should, err, put her somewhere first."

"Her bed then?" Ginny offered.

He shrugged. "Are you still set on the whole leaving her out on the roof idea?"

She hesitated. "Well," looking up at him imploringly, Ginny continued. "Yes, but I'd feel rather bad leaving her out there for, well, you know, eighteen hours."

He shrugged again. "It's really up to you," he replied, uneasily looking down at Hermione.

"Alright," she tapped her foot, looking thoughtful. "How about we stay up on the roof tonight and watch her?"

Nodding, Harry responded hesitantly. "Well I suppose... but wouldn't she be suspicious if she woke up and we were there?"

"Oh don't worry about it! We'll leave for breakfast, long before she wakes up."

"Alright then," he finally agreed. "Why don't you grab some blankets, and we'll wait until everyone's asleep until we sneak her onto the roof?"

She nodded and immediately began bustling around her room, rolling several blankets up into compact bundles.

Harry sat gingerly on the edge of Hermione's bed, still a bit uneasy about Ginny's "flawless" plan. For some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that something would go terribly wrong.

Having finished, Ginny skipped over to him, lithely leaping over Hermione and stopping to stand in front of him, blankets in hand as she smiled widely. "All done!" she chirped.

"Good... now what?"

In reply, she ran over to the door and poked her head out, looking up and down the hall. Turning back to him, she hissed, "I think everyone's asleep. Ready to go now?"

He nodded, leaning over to pick up Hermione. "Oof..." he joked, pulling her up.

Ginny turned around, bringing a finger to her lips, cautioning him to quiet down. "Come on..." she whispered, creeping out into the hallway.

Following obediently, Harry cautiously made his way down the hallway and the stairs.

Once outside, Ginny carefully made her way to the shed, emerging later with a broomstick. Silently, the two mounted the broomstick, Harry with some difficulty as he struggled to drape a lifeless Hermione onto the broomstick without dropping her.

Making their way up to the roof proved to be quite difficult, as every few moments, Harry would gasp in panic as Hermione began to slip away. Finally though, they made it onto the roof with everything still there, including Ginny's bundles of blankets.

After awkwardly setting Hermione down on a blanket (and making sure that her arm wasn't broken from the strange position that she was sprawled out in), Ginny spread out a blanket and motioned for Harry to sit down with her. He settled down besides her, watching as she pulled another blanket around her shoulders as she shuddered in the cool night air.

"Cold?"

She shook her head, red hair askew in the breeze. "No," she mumbled, voice muffled by the blanket she had pulled up to her chin. "I'm okay now."

They sat in silence, both staring into the sky as they contemplated. Every once in a while of course, they would check to makes sure that Hermione wasn't sliding off the roof, but for the most part, both were lost in their thoughts.

Harry soon found his eyelids drooping. He yawned, stretching as he lay down.

Presently, he was aware of Ginny's body snuggling up to his. He smiled and blearily opened an eye to see her curled up against him, breathing evenly as she slept.

And then all went black.

Then next thing he knew, he was startled from his sleep by a loud shriek. Opening his eyes groggily, he saw Hermione's furious face hovering above his.

"YOU TWO SURE HAVE A LOT OF EXPLAINING TO DO!"


	23. It Could Get Worse

**Oy! Another, longer chapter that I'm pretty happy with! Isn't that exciting? Actually, I've been spending much of this week at the nursing home because we just moved my grandparents there. Kind of sad, but its really better for them there than at my uncle's house, I mean, they really can't take care of themselves anymore. So yeap, I've been befriending old people (how fun!). Lol, some old woman stopped me and my brother and gave us exercise tips. "And remember, don't wear any jewelry. Drinking coffee is bad for you too!" Haha. That was rather bizarre. **

**Anyway, thank you for all your support- you guys have been so great about me taking longer to update. (MUAH) I appreciate it so much =D. **

**Okay, well many many thanks to: BrownPryde, The Vampire Story Hunter, Luna Lovegood2, Ghost123, possom2009, Sweet-Oklahoma, Stella, Zeo and the Harvest Sprites, Blackcat69 and lightprincess for your awesome reviews!**

**snowbabyjoe- Oh geez, I wouldn't go so far as to having Hermione throw them off the roof. Then they'd either be (A) dead, or (B) in a comatose state for several years. And that would totally ruin the story line, lol. So Hermione shall not be nice, but she won't be _horrible_ either. Hope you like this next chapter, and thank you for your awesome review!**

**ronnies gurl- Aww, goodness, you're so sweet. Thanks for loving this story! You're so amazingly cool. Yeah, I like Harry and Ginny snuggling too (runs off to squeal in delight). **

**Crookshankx- Lordy, I don't know what went wrong with the sleeping draught, but whatever it was, it didn't improve Harry and Ginny's situation, did it? Thanks so much for all your support- you're such a sweetie! Anyway, go write your story! It's loads of fun, I promise. And I'm sure it'll be three million times better than mine =D. **

**She-Who-Snogs-Weaesly-Boys- Hmm... sorry but I don't really have much to recommend. Except if you haven't tried already, any of JamieBell's stuff is amazing, amazing I tell you!!! All of her fics are cute and romantic, as well as amazingly well written and unique. Anyway, (ahem), "Life is dull when you are a beautiful, undiscovered genius". (Starts giggling away madly) Oh dear, looks like I can't say it with a straight face.**

**JamieBell- Ooh yay, my favorite author! Yes, this chapter was loads of fun to write because well, a furious Hermione is absolutely hilarious to imagine. Anyway, I read the newest chapter in your story! SPIFFY. I was so excited, you have no idea. And I loved it, of course. LOVED IT. In fact, if I was sure it wouldn't bore you, I would go on this long rant about your absolute brilliance right here and now. But I would probably scare people off with my enthusiasm, so I'll just say, once again, I loved it!!! So please keep on writing away; you rock! Oh yes, and thank you for the reviews... I appreciate them _very_ much =D. **

**Goldilocks31890- Ginny's plan was terrible, wasn't it? And yes, I feel very sorry for Harry too. But alas, it only gets worse. And worse, and worse. But someday soon, it'll get better (as we all know it will) and Harry and Ginny will get together. Lol. Thanks for reviewing my story, you're so cool!**

**Fireboy- Thank you for continually supporting my story. You are so amazing (tears up)! No actually, I'm not that emotional, but you're pretty darn cool, nevertheless =D. Yes I would LOVE to visit Europe, but alas, I will probably not for another few years. Ah well, thanks for your review!**

**Mep1- Yaay! I'm on your favorites list (does a happy dance)! I'm so excited! Thank you, thank you, thank you! You rock, and here, I updated!**

**Kingmaker- Thanks for being understanding about the long waits for an update! Anyway, yes I do try to make more time for myself between all my schoolwork, extracurriculars, and well, parents, but it gets hard, ya know? Hmm, I'm alright at math, in fact, I don't so mind it so much, but I don't _love_ it in the same way I love english and history. Yes, I do think that Molly really wants to see Harry and Ginny's relationship develop. Oh and goodness, I loved writing this chapter. Harry and Ginny- poor dears. It just gets worse and worse for them, you'll see. Well thank you for your awesome review, and I'll try not to kill myself updating quickly, lol. I'm used to working under pressure; don't you worry.**

**Bob-chan- You're such a sweetie! It's okay that you weren't able to review; the fact that you tried is enough =). Anyways, thanks for reviewing, and I'm so glad you like this story!**

**Tweek's Panda- Hmm, well I'll try to update whenever I can, but don't expect them to be daily or anything. If possible, perhaps twice a week or something, but even that is questionable. Thanks for reviewing!**

**Harryandginnyforever- Oh goodness, just to let everyone know, I LOVE ANYTHING THAT JAMIEBELL WRITES. So yes, I've read Letters and Carepackages. In fact, I adore that story. Adore it, I tell you! Anyways, glad you're liking this!**

**Tru Lys- I _like _cliffies! Haha... But hey, it didn't take me too long to get this one out, so HAH. (Sticks out tongue) You guys can't complain. Alright, thanks for your review!**

**Whippy Bird- Awww, I'm glad you like this. I totally want older brothers too; but all I've got is a younger one. Poo. Anyway, thanks for your suggestion, but I already had this chapter written when I read your review. And their excuse, I must say, is three million times WORSE than yours =D. But that's what makes it funny. Oh! Happy graduation!!! And have loads of fun in Door County. I shall certainly miss you!**

**Okay, so folks, here you are. Another chapter! And I CERTAINLY expect reviews, alright? Lol... Anyway, here you are, so read and _review_. =D**

Harry stared up at a fuming Hermione in shock.

Beside him, Ginny scrambled up, squeaking in surprise. "Hermione!" she blurted out. "You're not supposed to be awake yet!" She glanced down at her wristwatch. "It's only nine!"

Hermione huffed. "What am I doing up here anyway? What did you two," she pointed her finger in their faces. "Do to me?"

Harry sat up, averting her eyes guiltily. "Nothing," he mumbled, running a hand through his disheveled hair.

Ginny too was biting her lip nervously. "Oh Hermione," she started. "I have no idea what happened."

Hermione snorted disbelievingly. "Oh, so we just appeared on the roof like magic then?"

"I'd say 'by magic'," Harry whispered.

Ginny elbowed him, turning to give him a warning glare.

"Tell me!" Hermione demanded, glaring down at them.

Ginny yawned, pulling herself up. "I really don't know, Hermione," she continued, acting innocent. "I'm as baffled as you are."

"You two," Hermione screeched. "Are lying! I know it, alright? So you'd better tell me why you would do something as ridiculous as drag me up onto the roof or, or, or else!"

Harry chuckled, finding this whole situation a bit amusing, if not odd. He ran a hand through his hair thoughtfully. Who would've known that one day he'd wake up on top of the roof snuggled up to Ginny with a livid Hermione ready to strangle him to death? Life did indeed take strange turns.

Ginny, her hair disheveled from sleep was seated right by him, her shoulder brushing his as she stared wide-eyed at Hermione.

"Um..." she stammered as she noticed that Hermione was coming at her rather menacingly with the broomstick that a few seconds ago, had been lying rather harmlessly to the side. Now however, she realized, too late perhaps, that in Hermione's hands, it was a possible murder weapon. Squeaking in terror, she inched closer to Harry, clinging to his side.

Hermione stopped, suddenly smirking. "Tell me, otherwise I'll tell the twins that you fell asleep with Ginny, Harry."

Harry paled, immediately defending himself. "I didn't do anything though! It was completely innocent!"

She ignored his protestations. "Oh Harry," she sighed, looking at him pityingly. "You know the twins won't believe that. They'll think that you took advantage of Gin."

Ginny blushed, looking away.

Harry stared at her, mouth partially open in shock.

Before he could say anything, Ginny nudged him and leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Don't tell her anything... that would kill the plan."

He gave her an incredulous look. "What plan?" he hissed back. "It's already backfired on us... there's nothing left to salvage."

Not replying, she simply gave him a pointed look.

Watching the two discuss secretively did not improve Hermione's mood. "Look you two," she glared at them, hands on hips. "If you're not telling me anything, then I'm leaving and telling the twins."

Without waiting for a reply, she hopped onto the broomstick, and with surprising courage and skill, flew down.

"No Hermione!" Harry cried out, leaning over the edge of the roof.

"Wait!" Ginny screamed, looking desperately down at Hermione's retreating figure.

"Oh god," Harry moaned, scrambling back away from the edge of the roof. "I'm dead."

"We're never coming down," Ginny agreed glumly as she moved to sit by him.

"No," he shook his head. "That's not what I meant. Your brothers are going to kill me."

"Oh," she replied despondently. "I'm sorry about that, Harry. You do know I prefer you alive."

He cracked a small smile at that. "Ah well, that's good to know."

"Anyway," Ginny scrambled over to the edge of the roof, looking down. "There doesn't seem to be any way to get down." Turning back to him, she grinned, her rumpled hair falling into her face as she sat comfortably in her pajamas.

Absolutely adorable.

"Well," he blushed, looking away from her. "We've got to find a way... or else the twins will kill me and well, we'll starve to death."

"Oh Harry," she giggled playfully. "You know the twins will kill you anyway."

He pouted, crossing his arms huffily, lips twitching upwards as he watched her erupt into giggles. "Well this is all your fault, you know," he muttered in mock anger.

She gasped, bringing a hand to her mouth dramatically. "How dare you! I'm completely blameless here."

"Let's see," he sighed, counting off his fingers. "It was, one, your idea, two, your defective sleeping draught, and three, your plan to come up here. No, it looks like you're pretty guilty."

"It wasn't all my fault, you know. Something either obviously went wrong with the sleeping draught or Hermione is just not human, and besides," She crawled over, smacking his arm lightly. "You were my accomplice, so you share the blame!"

"Oh fine," he said, trying to look disappointed. "I suppose I'll have to help you get us down."

"You're absolutely correct, mister," she nodded, getting up and offering a hand for him to get up as well. "We've been quite successful with this whole Hermione and Ron thing so far-"

Harry coughed in disbelief.

Ignoring Harry, she continued. "-And we can certainly do something as easy as getting off the top of a two story building with no broomstick or ladder."

Harry grinned, pulling himself up. "Of course, Gin," he replied sarcastically. "What could be easier?"

"That's the spirit!" she cried out boisterously, purposely ignoring the sarcasm that had dripped from his statement. She marched ahead, surveying the roof.

He had no choice but to follow.

Trudging along after her as she scampered about, he had to smile. Certainly, they were an odd sight. Two teenagers, clad in their pajamas running around on top of the roof early in the morning.

_Well,_ he mused. _Spending time with Ginny is, at the very least, always exciting. Life-threatening, perhaps, but never boring. _

As if to answer his thoughts, Ginny ran back towards him. "Harry, do you think you could crawl down the chimney and come back up to fetch me?" She stared at him expectantly.

"Ermm..." he fidgeted, looking warily at the chimney. "Seems a bit dangerous, doesn't it?"

"Oh wait! You're right," she slapped her forehead. "I forgot. It's charmed to throw intruders back out and pound them into the ground with falling boulders."

_And there's the life-threatening bit._

"So," he surveyed the roof, seeing no apparent ways to get off. "Any other ideas?"

She shrugged, looking around as well. "Nope, not really. How about you?"

"Any drain pipes?" he asked hopefully, peering over the edge.

"What are drain pipes?"

"Never mind," he groaned, remembering that they probably had magical means of water disposal. "Err... how come we only brought one broomstick up here anyway?"

She sighed in exasperation, having stopped running around the roof. Flouncing onto a blanket, she responded, "Because we only needed one, remember? We had no idea Hermione would wake up and turn against us like this!" She motioned towards the side of the roof and sighed in resignation. "Here we are, a full twenty feet off the ground, and we've no way to get down."

Harry sat down beside her. "We will, undoubtedly, have to wait until the others come to get us."

"And then of course," she continued for him. "We'll both be teased unmercifully and you'll be slaughtered by the twins."

"How charming."

"Well," she brightened up, turning to look at him eagerly. "We could use this as an opportunity to get to know each other better!"

He looked back at her dubiously. "But we already know each other!"

"But not really," she countered, looking at him pleadingly. "Oh come on, Harry. It'll certainly pass the time and," she giggled. "Get our minds off your impending death."

He gave her a look that made it clear that he didn't appreciate that comment, to which she stuck out her tongue unafraid.

"Well," he finally responded, while still giving her his best death stare (not very successful, considering she only had to make eye contact with him and he had to smile), "I guess we could talk to pass the time."

"Good!" Sitting down cross-legged before him, she twirled a piece of hair around a finger and immediately began talking. "Well, I certainly like animals a lot. In fact, although I'm not particularly fond of spiders, I can pick them up and get them away from Ron... or if it suits me, pick them up and leave them in his room," she snickered mischievously. "You should really hear him screech in horror."

"Sounds like fun," he chuckled, trying to understand how in the world she had even found that topic to discuss. "So you take after the twins when it comes to pranks, huh?"

She grinned sheepishly, absently tucking a strand of rumpled hair behind her ear. "Well, it's an honor to be related to them, you know. I can only hope that one day I'll be that brilliant!"

"Ah, yes," he grinned, reaching over to tousle her hair.

She shrieked, jumping up and crossing her arms over her chest as she stood over him. "You're terrible," she pouted, hair even messier. "That's no way to treat a lady."

He hung his head in mock shame. "I'm sorry Gin. Will you ever forgive me?"

She stopped, pretending to think. "Perhaps if you grovel a bit," she suggested, giggling away madly.

Playing along, he got down on one knee, hands clasped together as he bowed his head, pretending to plea. "Oh Ginny!" he called out loudly and dramatically, prompting another burst of giggles from her. "Please forgive this humble servant of yours! You are so amazing, and beautiful, and wonderful, and I do not deserve to be in your presence, much less ever lay my hands on your hair!"

She was doubled over, gasping for breath as she laughed.

Fueled by this, he continued, getting louder by the second. "Ginny! Oh Ginny! Your beautiful tresses shall not be spoilt by my unworthy hands! Your clear, gorgeously freckled skin with its light blush-" here he paused, blushing as he realized that his descriptions of her, were, well, the way he really saw her. Bowing his head down lower so she wouldn't see, he continued. "- Shall not be marred by my touch! Ginny," he crawled over closer to her, still on one knee. "Thank you so much for associating with me!"

Applause erupted from below, startling him.

Peering over the edge of the roof, he saw the whole Weasley household standing on the lawn, grinning up at him as they clapped and hooted.

"Really Harry!" Ron yelled up. "I didn't know you felt that strongly for her!"

Fred and George stood, seemingly torn between either trying to kill Harry or humiliate him. But as protective as they were of their younger sister, they really couldn't resist joking when the situation was this good.

"Harry, mate!" George shouted up. "You've really a way with words there!"

Even Hermione was laughing hysterically. "Oh Harry," she managed to yell out between giggles. "Was that your proposal or something?"

"Oh my darling, darling, darling!" Fred called out fervently to George as they reenacted the scene. "Your smooth, peachy skin shall not be spoiled-" and here he withdrew his outspread arm as if he had just touched a hot stove. "-By my," he looked at his hand, a look of mock loathing on his face. "UNWORTHY HAND!"

George fell back, dramatically swooning. "Oh dear! Such a romantic!"

Ron and Hermione burst into laughter.

Even Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were trying, rather unsuccessfully, to keep a straight face.

Mrs. Weasley finally broke out in peals of laughter, wiping at her eyes as tears leaked out. "I'm sorry, children," she called out reassuringly. "I don't mean to tease you know... but that was quite a show."

Harry reddened, shutting his eyes for a moment as he wished with all his might that this whole scene would just go away. But alas, when he opened his eyes, the whole waving, laughing, hooting, all in all rowdy Weasley family was still standing on the lawn, staring up at him.

_Why god, why did this have to happen to me?_

In the midst of all his misery, he ventured a glance in Ginny's direction.

Poor Ginny didn't look like she was faring well either. She had definitely stopped giggling and was currently standing in shock, beet red, and a hand over her mouth as she stared down at her family. "Mum! Dad!" she squeaked out.

Harry simply continued staring.

"Ginny, Harry dears," Mrs. Weasley called up with an amused twinkle in her eye. "Do you care to explain what in the world you two were doing sleeping on the roof and dragging an already asleep Hermione up there with you?"

"Err..." Harry stared down wide-eyed. "Err... well, we were, I mean... well, err..." He looked desperately to Ginny for help, but for once, she seemed absolutely speechless.

Giving him an apologetic look, she simply shook her head slightly.

"Well, erm... you see," he floundered, trying to come up with a plausible lie. "I was tutoring Ginny, you see, in erm, astronomy." He finished lamely, reddening as he saw the skeptical looks on the faces of the whole Weasley clan.

Ginny looked even more mortified, but tried to play along with his story. "Yeah... and we decided to bring Hermione up, you see, so she could help. Umm... but she was already asleep, so we just dragged her along on the broom."

Hermione raised an eyebrow disbelievingly.

The twins guffawed.

"Really Gin," Fred cried up. "We had faith in you! I really did think that you could come up with better than that."

"Ginny, darling," Mrs. Weasley chuckled. "If you want to spend some alone time with Harry, just tell us. You needn't sneak out in the middle of the night."

Ginny blushed. "No Mum! That's not it at all!"

"Nope, never!" Harry quickly added.

But Mrs. Weasley only gave them a knowing look and replied with, "Mmhmm..." before she walked away, calling over her shoulder, "Ron, why don't you be a dear and get those two down."

The twins looked indecisive, but resigned to merely shooting Harry a warning glare (although they struggled not to grin) and walking back inside.

Ron stood on the lawn, grinning up at Harry and Ginny who were both completely red in the face and horrified.

"So Hermione, should we let these two lovebirds down?"

Hermione shook her head, smirking evilly at Harry and Ginny, who were looking down at her with absolute shock. "No, I think we should just leave them there. After all, they refused to tell me what in the world they were thinking, dragging me up there to join their little midnight rendezvous."

"Hermione!" Harry cried out. "Come on, you can't be that evil!"

"Ronald Weasley!" Ginny yelled, pointing a finger at her older brother. "You come up here and get me down RIGHT NOW!"

Ron grinned sheepishly. "Oh well, I suppose I'll have to then."

Hopping on a broomstick, he motioned for Hermione to climb on with him, clutching three broomsticks in her hand.

Watching them come up, Harry grinned. "Hey Hermione, I thought you could fly on your own."

She blushed, but looked him in the eye challengingly. "Make one more comment like that and you're not getting down until tomorrow morning."

"Although," Ron snickered, "I'm sure he wouldn't mind that much alone time with Ginny."

Ginny scowled. "Ron, I'm going to kill you."

But Ron merely grinned and tossed her and Harry each a broom, and then hopped onto his broom, motioning for Hermione to follow. Hermione mounted her broom with some reservations, but gave a small smile when she looked over to find Ron next to her, waiting patiently for her to descend.

Harry and Ginny followed, Ginny loaded down with blankets. They were both a bit too preoccupied to notice Ron and Hermione's closeness, much less comment on it. In fact, both were still blushing and trying, without much success, to forget the events of that morning.

Once they were all safely on the lawn, Ron looked at Harry and Ginny, rumpled hair, pajamas, mortified expressions and all, and grinned. "Why don't you two go get cleaned up?" he suggested. "Hermione and I can put the brooms away."

Nodding gratefully, both scampered off into the house.

As they walked, Ginny seemed deep in thought.

When they reached the house, Ginny turned to Harry, biting her lip. "Harry, you know, I just came up with the greatest idea for getting Ron and Hermione together..."

Harry shook his head, groaning. "No... not again."


	24. Oh Not Again!

**I have done it. I have written THE chapter. And it may not be great, and it may not be my favorite, but it is _still_ THE chapter. Anyway, here you go, the NEW chapter. How fun! Well, I feel the need to warn you- this ends in a cliffie. And worse news? I'm going off to Florida for vacation on Friday, so if I don't update by then, well, I won't update til, erm... the seventeenth. **

**Anways, I must thank you guys for the MANY MANY wonderful reviews. I've received more reviews for the last chapter than _any_ chapter thus far, and it excited me and totally encouraged me to keep writing. You have no idea how many times I stopped while writing this chapter in frustration. I was going to take a brief (as in a couple weeks) hiatus, but then I felt bad. **

**Hmm... oh yes, and my rant of the day: man-bashing is bad. Yes, that's right. Going to an all-girls school, I've seen all forms of man-bashing, from the books on how to train your man, to jokes about how males have the intelligence of geraniums, to (no, I'm not making this up) frightening rituals in which girls shred pictures of men (former lovers? I don't know...) and burn them. **

**So, we're all for women's lib, right? Equality of the sexes. Then why don't we stop being hypocrites? I mean, comparing men to misbehaving pups all the time? Come on now. You wouldn't like it the other way around. "Look, women are bitches who can only be controlled through a reward system. They're too stupid to grasp anything more complex." That, I think, is _not_ funny.**

**You have no idea how many girls I've met who, when inquired about what they want to do with their lives, reply with, "I just want to marry a rich guy." Good god, this is an all-girls school! It's supposed to instill us with independence and confidence. Can you imagine how ridiculous it would be for a guy to say that? "Yeah, I don't really want to do anything as a career. Just, you know, marry a rich girl."**

**Right. **

**So, ladies, we fought for our equality and we gained it. **

**Now let's keep our end of the deal and prove our self-worth and respect for others. **

**Oh boy, did I bore anyone into leaving? I sure hope not. Anyway, sorry for making you listen to that =D. I like to rant, and sometimes I get a _bit_ carried away. **

**Cam on (thank you in Vietnamese, hehe) to: Blackcat69, Nightwing509, WhyDoYouCare36, AnA4ever, Luna Lovegood2, BrownPryde, HGandRHrforever, The Shadow of Sora, The Vampire Story Hunter, Bob-chan, Ghost123, Tweek's Panda, baseballkid, Jim, Chantal J, xxero2005, Potterfan, potterchica02, Sweet-Oklahoma, Rayah Papaya, Dbish403, blank-cd, Kallasilya, mary-v, Kallan Myers, Mep, and Titanic-HarryPotter-lvr-2! I love you guys I love you guys! So many reviews.... Ah, I'm SO HAPPY!!! =D**

**Tru Lys- Awww, you're such a sweetie! Thanks for being such a great reviewer; I'm glad you're liking the story. And I'm also glad that _someone's _liking my sad stabs at humor. Lol.**

**Ronnies Gurl- I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU. You made me smile with your super super nice review! Thank you so much, and I am so honored that you actually read the chapter to your friend. And just for the record, _you're_ amazing. **

**JamieBell- Ah! I love you Margaret! Anyway, this fic has been progressing fairly slowly, but (gasp)- it's nearing its end. Thank you so much for being my mentor of sorts!!! You've helped me so much, and I don't know what I would've done without you. =)**

**Crookshankx- I'm glad you love my story! Eesh! I'm excited for the day when you finally write out your own story! It'll be fun! Fun fun fun! And I can't wait to read it! Thanks for the splendid review, and I hope you find this new chapter satisfactory!**

**Kingmaker- I'm terribly ashamed. Absolutely _nothing_ I write deserves to be called "perfect", but I must admit, I am extremely flattered. Well, here is the new chapter. And dear lord, _more happens!_ I really hope you find it to your liking, and as this story is nearing its end, I'd like to thank you for taking the time to always leave reviews that are always a delight to read. Thank you!!!**

**Fireboy- Whaat? You're LEAVING me?! Accckk... you will be missed! I hope that when you come back, you find that this completed story is waiting here for you, and that you like it! You've been absolutely wonderful with all your reviews; thank you so much for having taken the time to read my story!**

**A Harry and Ginny Dreamer- Yaay, you like my story! I mean, you've always told me that you _have, _but it excites me nevertheless! Oh and the kissing that you've been asking about _forever?!_ It's in the near future. I promise. Very very near future. Very very very very very near future... Okay, I'll stop before I give anything away. I just hope that you like this chapter though!**

**Oliana Walden- I just know you'll do wonderfully with your story! I already think it's off to a wonderful stop, and I'm looking forward to an update. Anyway, as English is not your mother language, I'm very impressed with what you were able to do. Thank you so much for reviewing my story and taking my review to heart, and I wish you luck. Oh yes, and what is your mother language, if you don't mind my asking?**

**Click La Magnifique- Aww, thank you, you're so sweet! And of course, I have continued writing, and voila, here is my new chapter. I have a confession to make- I actually tried to read your story after getting your review. But, alas, my french is absolutely _horrible_. I mean, I've been in french class for two years now, and I do not understand, read, or speak french. Dear lord, I'm hopeless. But I'm glad you were able to read my story, and so glad that you like it! I hope you like this chapter!**

**She-Who-Snogs-Weaesly-Boys- I have no idea what a beta reader is, lol. I'm just about as clueless as you are, if not more so. Anyway, I hope you like JamieBell's stuff; it's absolutely fantastic. But don't abandon me, okay? Lol, anyway, here is the newest chapter! **

**Whippy Bird- Yaay, you're back you're back! And here to read my newest chapter! And hopefully not hate it! How exciting =P. Anyway, thank you for being an _excellent _reviewer and taking the time to review even after a long trip. You rock!**

**Leoking- Wow, that's a long review. Dear lord, I don't know what to reply to first. Anyway, easy stuff first, lol. "Lol" is an acronym for "laugh out loud" and is the equivilent of saying "haha". Yeap. Well I'm glad you're liking this story, and I agree with you. Fred and George deserve a huge prank. But, alas, I'm not sure what to do to them, so that will come in later chapters. I hope you'll be satisfied with the progression of the characters in this chapter- namely the relationship between Ginny and Harry. The characters all have very distinct personalities by now, and I'm still trying to piece everything together so that it _works. _Anyway, hope you like this new chapter; it took a while, but I finally got it out!**

**The Irish Fox- Ooh ooh, look, I wrote more! And just for the record, _yes_** **I would write more if your life depended on it. You betcha I would. I mean, you review my story and say it's your favorite! Of _course_** **you're an awesome person =D! Well, thank you for your review, and here is the new chapter you were so eagerly awaiting!**

**Okay everyone- Here it is. Be happy, read it and remember that it's my first fic, and please please, no evil reviews. That would be a serious blow to my confidence. So here here here! Read read read! And of course.... REVIEW. **

"How about-"

"No."

"-But we could-"

"No."

"If we-"

"No."

"Oh please-"

"No."

"-But they would-"

"No."

"Aww... but Harry-"

"No."

Ginny sat across from Harry, watching as he serenely ate his breakfast without looking up at her. "You're no fun," she pouted.

He shrugged, unperturbed as he continued to crunch his way through a bowl of cereal. "Do you really want a repeat of this morning?"

Huffing, she crossed her arms, frowning. "Really, I've got a thoroughly thought out plan this time!" she protested, remaining seated where she was.  
  
"That," he replied dryly, picking up his empty bowl and walking to the sink, "Is exactly what you said last time."

"Oh, so I messed up one time," she persisted. "It's not like I've ever led you astray before, right?"

He looked at her warily. "Right. But the one time you did, the consequences were absolutely disastrous."

"Oh they won't be this time," she waved off his concerns. "I promise."

"For some reason, I don't really believe you, there," he muttered, still looking extremely distrustful. "You know, I had a bad feeling about the last plan, and well, I have a bad feeling about this one too."

"Oh, Harry," she scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You're being absolutely ridiculous. You haven't even heard my plan yet, and you're already against it."

He opened his mouth to retort, but was startled by the sudden appearance of the twins coming down the stairs, swaggering threateningly as they made their way towards Harry.

"Hello, Harry," Fred said coolly, crossing his arms.

"Did you have a good night's sleep?" George inquired, frowning. "What did you do Harry? Drug my little sister and drag her up there so you could..." he paused, looking pained. "Use her for your sick purposes?!"

Fred looked equally pained. "You Harry," he hissed, poking violently at Harry's chest with his finger. "Are going to die."

Harry stumbled back a couple steps, mouth open in shock. "Err..." he stammered, staring wide-eyed at the twins.

For some reason, these 'talks' often had this effect on him.

"I really didn't do anything!" he finally pleaded.

The twins looked at him disbelievingly. Looking at each other for a moment, they began to advance on him menacingly, looking like they were ready to pummel him into the ground right then and there.

"No!" Harry cried desperately. "Don't kill me!"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Oh you two!" she sighed in frustration. "Stop being ridiculous. Harry would never ever have such," she paused, searching for the word, "dishonorable intentions!"

Turning to look at her, Fred appeared puzzled. "Then what in the world were you two doing on the roof all night?

"Not what you thought!" she cried out indignantly, reddening. "We were simply stargazing."

"Stargazing, eh?" George raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Gee Gin, you're sure becoming quite the romantic."

"For academic purposes!" she replied, her voice getting a bit higher.

Harry quickly nodded in agreement.

"Right." The twins looked unconvinced.

"So," Fred looked unsure. "You don't want us to teach Harry a lesson then?"

"No, not at all!" Ginny giggled, flashing them a big smile as she glanced quickly towards Harry. "Harry and I will be off now, alright?"

The twins looked at each other for a moment and then glanced warily at Harry, who continued to smile weakly in what he hoped was an innocent manner.

"Yeah," George finally said, giving his little sister an affectionate pat on the head. "Well, Ginny, if Harry bothers you at all, just tell us, alright?"

"We'll be up in our room, ready with many instruments of torture," Fred added helpfully.

"Wonderful," Ginny rolled her eyes sarcastically. "That sure is nice to know."

Grabbing Harry's hand despite his frightened glances at the twins who were currently shooting him death stares, she dragged him upstairs and into her room, slamming the door behind them. Flouncing on her bed, she gave a startled Harry a triumphant smile.

"How do you do that?" he asked in awe. "You know, get rid of them like that?"

She smirked, propping herself up on her elbows. "I'm just brilliant like that."

Err, if that's what you want to believe," he chuckled teasingly, sitting down on the bed beside her.

She gasped, pretending to be terribly offended. "Harry!" She tilted her head upwards to look at him, "How dare you doubt my intelligence!"

"Aww Gin," he replied lightly. "You know I believe in everything that comes from that pretty little head of yours."

Blushing, she turned away. "You really mean that?" she asked, forcing a laugh.

Harry sensed that they weren't joking around anymore.

Glancing around the room nervously, Harry searched for a way to answer. "Well," he began carefully. "You're a very clever girl, and I respect that."

She blushed again, but smiled at his words.

"And," he added, trying to lighten the mood again. "That head of yours is definitely the prettiest in your family. Quite a bit more pleasant to look at than your brothers' anyway."

She burst into giggles. "Oh really?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Well I've happened to hear from quite a few people that Ron has the most alluring physique."

Harry made a disgusted face. "Ugh! That's not true, is it?"

Shaking her head, she burst into giggles again. "Naw, I just wanted to see your reaction."

He glared at her. "But now I have this horrible image of my best mate! Ron. Alluring," he shook his head in disgust. "That's... that's... there are no words to describe how traumatizing this is."

"Aww..." Ginny cooed, giving him a pitying look. "Did I scare poor Harry?"

He pretended to look terribly frightened. "Yes," he replied, dramatically. "I was terrified!"

"Poor dear..." she leaned in closer, giving him an impish grin. He stared at her, trying not to blush.

_Well, she was close._

_Very close. _

_A good thing? _

_Yes, definitely,_ he decided.

Unconsciously, he found himself leaning in closer to her.

_Maybe..._ his dazed mind thought. _Maybe she won't kill me_.

That of course, was enough to encourage him to continue.

Ginny stared up at Harry, her mouth slightly parted in shock.

_Why yes, that would be his face coming closer. _

_And why? _

_Well, there were many possibilities. _

_He could be leaning in to bite her nose off, for one. Or perhaps he meant to whisper something in her ear. _

_Hmm... but he sure didn't look like he was heading for her ear._

_In fact, if she didn't know better, she'd say that his mouth was heading for hers. _

_Dear lord! _

_Was he leaning in.... for a kiss?_

Her eyes fluttered shut as she decided that it was time for her conscience to shut up. All this thinking was starting to make her nervous.

Harry felt even more dazed as he watched Ginny close her eyes and lean in towards him.

_So, she's not going to kill me. _

_Here goes..._

They both held their breaths in anticipation.

_Bam!_

The door burst open and the triumphant twins barged in.

_No, no, no..._ Ginny squeezed her eyes shut._ Not_ _now. Not again._

"Aha!" Fred called out, running over and roughly yanking a mortified Harry away from Ginny. "We've caught him in the act!"

_Oh lord._

Harry stared in horror at the twins, feeling his face redden. "I..." he stammered. "I... I..."

Fred continued roughly dragging Harry out the door, while George rushed over to Ginny's side, mistaking her silent mortification for fear.

"Gin!" he soothed, patting her back. "It's alright now. We won't let Harry try to take advantage of you again."

_Try not to kill. Try not to kill. Try not to kill._

Unfortunately, her little mantra didn't help matters any.

Red in the face, she turned to a surprised George and exploded, "WHAT IN THE WORLD DO YOU TWO THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

Fred stopped in the middle of shoving a protesting Harry out the door and turned around to gawk at his little sister.

"Gin," George backed away from his little sister, a bit frightened by her outburst, though he would never admit to that, of course. "Are you alright? I mean, we just stopped that... that pig," he pointed at Harry, who was currently staring wide-eyed at a very peeved Fred who, every few seconds rapped rather brutally at the top of Harry's head with his knuckles, "From... from deflowering you!"

"Deflowering? Deflowering?!" Ginny wasn't sure whether to toss them out of the window in frustration or giggle at George's interesting choice of... phrasing.

She chose neither.

Instead, she opted for a more violent approach... without the throwing them out the window bit, of course.

Instead, she launched herself first at George with a strangled scream, bashing his arm (she had a bit of a penchant for this, she had to admit) with her fists.

Fred stopped abusing Harry, stopping to stare at Ginny's violent attack as he debated whether to continue hurting Harry or rushing over to save George's life.

George, trying to preserve what dignity he had, attempted to maintain an amused grin when inside, he was quite terrified. The result was a rather grotesque expression that would've given small children nightmares.

"You!" she vented as she pounded away furiously. "I hate you! I hate you both!"

_ Argh! How could they? _

_Stupid overprotective brothers._

"You know," Harry piped up feebly. "I really wasn't aiming to, err... deflower her."

That of course, earned him a swift kick from Fred.

"Harry and I," Ginny yelled, "Were simply spending some time together, and you two ruined that! Ruined it!''

"But..." George grimaced as he rubbed at his injured arm. "We were... erm... preserving your innocence."

She shot him a glare. "Oh you two..." she muttered, impulsively tossing a pillow onto the floor with vehemence, raising her voice. "I've snogged boys before, alright?! So just leave me alone! I won't go and get myself, um, deflowered or whatever you said!"

The twins looked aghast.  
  
Harry himself looked absolutely shocked at her outburst, and also terrified of how the twins would react.

"You expect us to leave?!" Fred retorted, stomping his foot angrily. "Not when you've made that confession, Gin! I don't want you near any boys, ever again!"

"Argh!" she screamed in frustration, smacking George's arm again (as he gave a rather undignified yelp).

Grabbing a textbook from the floor, she ferociously hurled it in Fred's direction.

On seeing that their little sister was now aggravated enough to kill them, the twins simply gave her an alarmed look and scurried out of the room.

Fred attempted to drag Harry along by his collar, but Ginny glared at him.

"Leave him behind," she gritted through clenched teeth, holding another textbook threateningly.

Taking one look at her expression, Fred dumped Harry on the floor and ran out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Don't you dare do anything to her Harry!" he called through the door hurriedly before scampering down the hallway.

Ginny sat down on her bed again, looking considerably calmer. "Alright, Harry?" she asked concernedly.

Lying in an absolute mess on the floor, Harry smiled up at her, glasses askew. "Erm, not too bad. The twins were rather set on killing me, huh?"

She giggled softly. "Yeah, they don't really want me getting too close to any boys."

They lapsed into silence again, which was only broken by Ginny nervously tapping her foot as she bit her lip blushing.

Harry felt himself redden.  
  
_How are we supposed to talk about this?_

"Erm," he coughed awkwardly, blushing even more deeply as she looked up from her stupor. "I think... err, I mean... um... We should talk about, you know, what was going on before the twins came in," he finally blurted out, immediately burying his face in the pillow (which Ginny had thrown down earlier) to hide his mortified expression.

Twirling several strands of red hair between her fingers, Ginny stared at the floor, blushing more than she ever thought possible. "Yeah," she whispered. "I suppose we should."

This time, it was a long, long silence that left them both fidgety and desperate to die before they just exploded from all the embarrassment.

"Yeah," Harry coughed again. "Well we were talking about plans for one..."

_And then... _the little voices inside both of their heads probed.

"...And then...." Ginny murmured, giving a squeak of horror before staring pointedly at the floor again.

_I can't do this correctly,_ Harry panicked.

_I can't, I can't. _

_It isn't supposed to be like this! _

_We're supposed to eloquently profess our love to each other and fall into each other in a passionate embrace, cooing terms of endearment like "darling, darling!" or, his personal favorite, "Love muffin!"_

_ ..._Okay, so maybe that was the way things happened in those horrid soap operas that Aunt Petunia watched religiously.

_And well_, he had to admit, _that all seemed rather ridiculous to him. Over the top, if you know what I mean. _

_But they did it so easily!_

Ginny, on the other hand, was simply feeling very frustrated with herself and the whole situation. The embarrassment may have been unbearable, but this, this silence was even worse! "Okay Harry!" Ginny finally admitted, still keeping her face turned away from his. "Erm... I still fancy you a bit, alright?" She said this all hurriedly, trying to get it over with as soon as possible.

As incredibly relieved as he felt (not to mention elated), Harry couldn't think of anything witty, suave, or wonderfully romantic to say at the moment, so, instead, he stammered out, "Oh..."

His inner voice immediately began berating him.

_That's the best you can do?! _

_You've been staring at her for weeks, found the way she eats cereal charming, and tried to kiss her twice, and the best you can do when she tells you that she feels the same way is 'oh.' _

_You're pathetic._

And so this self-scolding continued.

On seeing his lack of reaction, Ginny could only reach one conclusion. He didn't feel the same way. Mustering up her dignity, despite the fact that her face was probably as red as a tomato, she forced herself to look at him.

For some strange reason, he was muttering things to himself, looking extremely distracted.

Ignoring this, she spoke. "You know Harry," she said haltingly. "It's alright if you don't fancy me back. I... I understand."

_Okay, you did it_, she praised herself glumly.

_So I'm not jumping for joy, now that I've been rejected._

_Well, I think I certainly have the right to sulk. _

"Oh no," Harry quickly replied, his head snapping up at her comment. "Oh no... I don't... I mean, I do... well, erm..." he was flustered and stammering again.

She looked at him expectantly, a slightly disappointed frown on her lips.

"I..." he stared, wide-eyed at her, finding for some reason, that he could say no more.

_Oh great, great time to freeze up_.

"Look," she muttered, even more mortified. "You really don't have to explain. Like I said, I understand."

_Say something, you twit!_ His conscience screamed at him.

"There is something I have to explain, actually," he finally mustered up the courage to say. "Err... I'm glad you fancy me."

She blinked.

"And," he continued, growing redder by the moment, "That's because I fancy you as well."

There was an awkward silence.

"Oh," Ginny finally said, staring at her hands.

Another awkward silence followed.

"That's a good thing," Ginny added awkwardly, looking up at him.

He grinned tentatively, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I think so too."

"So," she suddenly found her hands very interesting again, "Do you think... you know... we should, well, finish what we started?"

He nodded, relieved that she had brought it up. "Yeah, I'd like that."

"Me too," she whispered before leaning in towards him.

This time, they weren't interrupted.

Their lips met hesitantly, and after a moment, they both withdrew, smiling shyly.

Ginny sat on the floor, blushing prettily as she faced an equally bashful Harry.

She was, for once, absolutely speechless.

Harry opened his mouth to say something, but quickly shut it and whipped his head towards the window at the sound of a loud scream from outside.

In a flash, Ginny and Harry had both leapt up and pressed their faces against the window. Eyes wide, Ginny brought up a hand to her mouth as she gasped.

"Hermione."


	25. And Sparks Will Fly

**Waaah! I finished all my responses to your reviews and my computer froze! Go figure. Anyway, here I go again... Thank you all for being so patient with me! I know it took me forever to get this chapter out. Actually, I took over a week to write out the chapter, but found the whole process painful, and besides, I didn't like the chapter at _all_. So guess what? I erased it and sat down to rewrite it, following a completely different plotline and with the perspectives of different characters. And wonders of wonders, I'm actually satisfied!**

**Geez, I couldn't believe how many of you _predicted_ what was going to happen. Really, I'm not _that _cliched, am I?**

**Okay, so much love to: Nightwing509, WhippyBird, The Shadow of Sora, Oliana Walden, Rebekahek623, sweethoneyno1, LunaLovegood2, SailorMoonCrystal15, mary-v, The Vampire Story Hunter, Ronnies Gurl, The Forest Ranger, Crookshankx, LadyVoldything, onesmartgoalie, Black Cherrie, iloveharry, Chantal J, blank-cd, WhyDoYouCare36, A Harry and Ginny Dreamer (I LOVE YOU TOO, lol), Stella, Ginny Potter/ 'Mione Weasley!!, Crystal, hry pttr, CarissaLynn, HGandRHrforever, Dbish403, paigemadden, Tweek's Panda (HAPPY BELATED SIXTEENTH BIRTHDAY!!!), Sparrow Greenleaf, Heather, Elvengirl9, Hedwig923, BAce, Rose Red18, BrownPryde, Obs3ssi0n, Cobalt45, Titanic-HarryPotter-lvr-2, Kallan Myers, She-Who-Snogs-Weaesly-Boys, potterchica02, sleepy-zzz, Goldilocks31890, obsessed87, Sweet-Oklahoma, lightprincess, transcendantporcupine, crazykool, griffin14, SaSush3, and Luv Lexi! Thank you so much! Mind you, if I had the time, I would write out an individual message to each and every one of you, but alas, I have not the time. And I have a feeling you'd rather see the chapter anyway!**

**CherryBlossom08- I'M SO SORRY! I really am... I had no idea I had forgotten you! Please please accept my public apology! And rest assured, I will never do it again! NEVER. Anyway, I love you much, and here is the next chapter, which will hopefully lift your grudge against me a bit.**

**Click La Magnifique- Oh, I didn't understand you last time! Yes, please, I'd love it if you translated my fic into French! In fact, I'd be so honored... Well thank you for reading my fic and taking the time to review! I'm glad you enjoyed it. **

**Tru Lys- I LOVE YOU. Thank you so much for continually reviewing my story; you rock! Hmm, well this _is_ the last chapter, so hopefully your sister won't hate me _as _much =P. I'll miss your reviews dearly, but hopefully I'll write another story soon and you can review that one. **

**Kingmaker- Well you are correct, the end _is _near. In fact, if you scroll down to the bottom of this page, you will find the words "the end", lovely and bolded. Thank you for reviewing my story; it was much appreciated! You rock!!! Here is the last chapter- hope you enjoy!**

**Rayah Papaya- Yay, my fellow schoolgirl! Thank you for your review! Hmm, well, I'm glad you found the last chapter fun- I did too! Although I found it a bit awkward, but hey, crushes _are_ indeed awkward little things. Anyways, enjoy this chapter!**

**JamieBell- You were right about what happened! ... Kind of, anyway. I seriously considered putting in the floating apple blossoms, but decided against it =P. Anways, thanks for all your support, and btw, your recent stories were loads of fun to read! Geez, I'm such a sucker for fluff. **

**Alexandrea- LOL. Your review totally cracked me up. Can you just imagine some boy sweeping you off your feet and saying, quite dramatically, "You are okay, my little lovemuffin!" Haha!!! Goodness. Seriously, that's going to be my "pickup line" from now on (only on boys who won't think I'm insane). Thank you much for your review, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Amanda- I don't mean to be cruel, lol. But here is the chapter that you've been waiting for! So you don't have to kill me now... haha. Anyway, thanks for taking those two hours to read my story and review (even if it was only to threaten me... I found that rather amusing). Thanks thanks thanks! Hopefully you like this chapter!**

**Flora13- Thank you so much for your SUPER long review! It made my day =). Anyway, I'm terribly flattered that you actually took the time to read this all, and I hope you like this next chapter. Also, I'm glad you didn't find my writing _too _American. I mean, I tried, but I wasn't really sure. It's one of those things you can't really shake, you know? Like my California accent for example, which I didn't even know existed. Thank you again, and enjoy!**

**Thank you so much to all my reviewers! You guys have no idea what your reviews mean to me; I literally run to my computer daily to check my email, and when I read your reviews, it never fails to bring a smile to my face! So thank you much, and I hope you enoy this chapter! **

She was falling.

It was a strange sensation, both altogether unsettling yet exhilarating. She could not help but suck in a deep breath, surprised as she realized that her broom had escaped her grip and was now spiraling down towards the lawn.

She didn't feel panicked, not the way she thought she would.

In fact, it all seemed rather surreal.

Looking down, she was shocked to see that she was approaching the ground at an incomprehensible speed.

_Thump!_

She landed roughly, gasping as the impact caused her head to jerk backwards.

_No!_ She thought in a panic, completely irrational for once. _Mum will be so upset if I die before cleaning my room..._

And with that, the back of her head thudded against something hard and all went black.

"Hermione!" Ron cried out, horrified as he zoomed down and dismounted his broom, kneeling beside the unconscious girl's form.

He shook her shoulders gently, but unsurprisingly, she didn't stir.

For some reason, he was tempted to wail aloud, "My one true love has died!" in a highly dramatized fashion (flailing of arms and all), but decided against it for two reasons: 1. Hermione was obviously NOT dead, and 2. If anyone saw, he'd never hear the end of it. So instead, he sat for a moment in distress, unsure of what to do.

Fortunately, at that same moment, the side door of the Burrow burst open and a flushed Ginny and Harry ran towards him.

"We saw her fall," Ginny explained, out of breath. "Is she alright?"

Harry rushed over as well, looking down at Hermione with a worried expression. "We should get her inside," he muttered.

Both Ginny and Ron nodded in reply, and without a word, Harry and Ron quickly lifted Hermione up gently and began carrying her into the house. Once inside, they unceremoniously dumped her onto the couch in the living room and stared expectantly at her.

Ginny, who had followed them inside, pushed to the front and huffed in frustration. "Don't just stand there, you two!" she commanded in a way that was disturbingly like Hermione. "Now," she knelt by Hermione in a very businesslike manner. "Let's hope she's not bleeding."

Lifting up Hermione's head and softly parting her bushy hair, Ginny let out a sigh of relief when she saw that Hermione was, indeed, not bleeding. "What happened, Ron?" she asked, looking up at her brother.

He shifted from foot to foot, biting his lip guiltily. "Well we were flying..."

"That much is obvious," Ginny snapped. "Now go on."

"We were flying and all of a sudden she just fell," he shrugged his shoulders, bewildered. "I don't know what happened, but she just fell. She hit the ground and then her head hit a rock, and," he gestured at the girl lying peacefully on the couch, "here she is."

They looked at her uneasily, unsure of what to do.

"I suppose," Harry said finally, breaking the silence. "That we should wait for her to wake up."

Ginny nodded her head in agreement and stood up, shuffling over to Harry's side.

Ron however, seemed less convinced. "Right," he muttered, kneeling beside Hermione, reluctant to leave her.

Harry and Ginny exchanged looks and both slowly walked out of the room.

"Ron," Ginny said softly over her shoulder. "Why don't you stay here and watch her?"

He nodded in reply, smirking as he turned back to Hermione. He may have been distraught, but he had definitely noticed the proximity between Harry and Ginny. And now they had scurried out of the room together.

Five minutes passed, and although he hated to admit it, Ron was bored.

He couldn't help feeling a bit guilty; I mean, Hermione was unconscious, and he should really have been watching her every breath with fascination, thanking Merlin that she was still breathing.

But really, he could only do that for so long.

"Hi," he said to Hermione, who didn't respond.

_Oh really, this was pathetic. He wasn't really going to talk to well, himself, was he? _

_Ah, what the heck._

"Anyways, you just fell."

_Brilliant conversationalist you turned out to be_.

"Hopefully you'll be up and about in no time," he continued awkwardly. "Err, you know, I'm sorry I let you fall. Although," he managed to grin, "I highly doubt that blow to the head lowered your intelligence in any way at all."

He poked at her arm hopefully, sighing when she still didn't move.

Shifting restlessly, he continued with his one-sided conversation. "I'm glad you tried flying," he said earnestly. "Hopefully you won't give up after this. I know you won't, though. Failure doesn't scare you, does it?" he scratched his head. "I wish I could be like that. But anyway, I know because you never give up. Even with that ridiculous SPEW nonsense, which was incredibly unsuccessful. I think the house elves hated you for that," he grinned. "But you really didn't give up. You just kept knitting those lumpy clothes and left them around."

He fell into silence.

"You know, I admire you for that," he finally said. "I think I always have. Even in first year, when I hated you. I don't think I really hated you," he added, scratching his head in confusion. "Wow," he laughed to himself. "This is weird. Anyway, even though you can be a bit stubborn at times, and you're a bit psychotic when it comes to schoolwork, I really do like you. A lot, even," he breathed out, slowly, "As more than a friend."

Looking at Hermione, Ron sighed.

"Funny how it's so much easier to say it when you can't hear me," he muttered to himself.

Watching her expression, he sighed again when it didn't change at all.

She had obviously not heard.

Meanwhile, Harry and Ginny were delightedly chattering away upstairs.

"Poor Hermione," Harry lamented, sighing.

"Well obviously," Ginny stated, "It's terrible that she fell, but this will definitely bring those two together."

"You're right!" Harry agreed. "Our matchmaking efforts had to have worked at least a bit."

"I mean," she gave him a coy smile, "Their efforts certainly worked with us, didn't they?"

He blushed, but grinned nevertheless. "They worked very well," he murmured in reply, leaning over to peck her on the lips.

Flushed, she squealed, smiling dazzlingly at him in reply. Then, impulsively, she launched herself at him, landing happily in his lap and proceeding, unabashed, to snuggling against his chest.

She sighed happily. "I'm comfortable here," she proclaimed to a very pleasantly surprised Harry. "You know what?" she winked. "I hereby claim this lap as mine."

"Really?" he managed to raise an eyebrow before snaking an arm around her waist and pulling her closer. "I was under the assumption that this was my lap," he added quickly, "Not that I want you to leave."

She tilted her face up to look at him, her eyes sparkling mischievously. "How about," she whispered, leaning in closer, "You convince me that I'm wanted here."

Harry grinned as he whispered into ear, "I could certainly try."

Unsurprisingly, Hermione's predicament was soon forgotten.

In the living room, Hermione blinked her eyes open, confused as she stared up at the ceiling. "Where am I?" she muttered, lifting her head up and immediately wincing.

"You're awake!" Ron cried out, peering down at her face.

She winced again at his voice, which seemed to be unusually loud and booming.

"Be quiet," she muttered, burying her face into the sofa cushion. "My head hurts."

"Oh sorry," he whispered, looking so remorseful that she immediately felt bad.

"What happened?" she asked, becoming increasingly aware of a throbbing pain at the back of her head.

He bit his lip nervously. "Well you were flying, you see," he explained, looking rather guilty, "And all of a sudden you fell off your broom. And you also hit your head on a rock."

"Oh." She racked her brain and came across a blurry memory of her broom spiraling towards the ground. "Well that makes sense."

"I'm sorry," he said, sounding so sincere that it stopped her train of thought.

She managed to turn her head to stare at him, knelt beside the sofa, biting his lip and scratching his head nervously. "Why?" she asked, bewildered. "What'd you do?"

She searched her memory again.

_He had joined forces with the lawn gnomes and thrown giant vegetables to make her fall off her broom! _

_No wait. _

_That had been a recurring nightmare from a couple years back._

"I should've watched out for you," he explained, looking even more forlorn. "I should've stopped your fall."

_He was being such a gentleman! He was growing up! He was taking_ _the blame for things!_

She sniffled, tearing up.

"No, wait!" Ron stared at her, alarmed. "Don't cry! I'm sorry for," he shrugged desperately, "Everything I've ever done wrong!"

She shook her head furiously, ignoring the throbbing pain that accompanied each shake. "They're happy tears," she finally managed to say, smiling shakily at Ron.

Ron was terribly, terribly confused.

One minute, the girl was unconscious, the next, she was cranky, and then she was crying. And now she had just told him that she was crying tears of joy? Did falling off a broom and hitting one's head on a rock generally make one that, well, happy? Was this normal?

"Are you alright?" he asked tentatively, looking at her worriedly. "Do you know who I am?"

She blinked at him in confusion. "You're Ron," she replied, giving him a strange look. "Why would you even ask me that?"

"And," he continued slowly, as if talking to an infant, "Do you remember what your name is?"

She blinked at him again, unsure of how to reply to that. Finally, she just made a frustrated sound and rolled her eyes. "Honestly Ron, I'm not brain damaged, alright? I can remember everything perfectly. Stop acting like I'm a toddler."

Ron smiled.

_Well, at least she was back to normal._

"I'm glad you're alright," he stated simply.

She smiled in reply, but frowned when the throbbing of her head increased. "Do you have anything for headaches?"

"Oh yeah." He stood up, disappearing into the kitchen for a few minutes.

He reemerged with a grin and a small jar and a spoon in his hands. "I found it," he announced, holding up the jar for her to see. "You take two teaspoons and you should be headache-free for a week."

"Great," she mumbled in reply. "I hope the effects are instantaneous."

He knelt down beside her, opening the jar and carefully measuring out one teaspoon. "Say 'ah'," he coaxed gently.

She rolled her eyes, but opened her mouth obediently to swallow down the liquid.

Making a face, she giggled. "Yuck," she pursed her lips together. "That was horrid. Worse than polyjuice potion even!"

He chuckled in reply, already holding out the second teaspoon. "Yeah," he replied as she opened her mouth again (although a bit reluctantly), "But I'm sure it has better results."

Recalling the disastrous effects of the one time she had tried polyjuice potion, Hermione blushed.

"Aww," he teased, noticing her embarrassment. "It wasn't that bad. I mean, at least you didn't have to turn into one of Malfoy's bumbling cronies."

"Right," she pouted, sitting up as her head immediately stopped throbbing. "Because being a furry beast was so much more pleasant."

"You were a cute cat," he teased, putting the jar and spoon on the coffee table nearby.

She blushed again, lowering her eyes. "...Right," she mumbled, reddening.

They sat in silence for several moments, each apparently finding the floor very interesting.

"You really were," Ron finally said lamely.

They both blushed deeply.

"Thanks," Hermione murmured in reply, lifting her eyes slightly to look at him hopefully.

"Um," he looked back at her nervously. "Do you think you'll continue flying?"

Disappointed, she nodded. "Of course. I still need to master it," she flashed a grin at him, "And be better than you."

Instead of an angry retort, Ron simply chuckled, smiling at her in a way that she found incredibly disconcerting. "Yeah," he nodded, looking at her admiringly. "I knew you would."

Smiling uncertainly at his strange reaction, she looked at him imploringly. "You'll still teach me, won't you?"

Looking at her wide-eyed, attentive face, he had to chuckle again. "Look at you," he remarked fondly, "Always eager to learn, aren't you?" She frowned at his response.  
  
Really, he was acting so strangely, so puzzlingly.

And although she hated to admit it, she was confused.

And she hated it.

"What's wrong with you?" she snapped, sounding a bit harsher than she meant to.

"What do you mean?" he asked, surprised at her outburst.

"You're being so," she shook her head, confused, "You're not ignoring me, and you're not trying to aggravate me, and you're just being different."

She stared at him, still frowning slightly.

"I do not ignore you!" he protested, now frowning himself. "And I don't aggravate you, well at least not purposely."

"You do too ignore me!" she retorted and immediately felt embarrassed by how much she sounded like an attention-seeking child.

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

They glared at each other, the amiability of the moments before forgotten in their immature spat.

Hermione pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

Ron glared back at her. "I was just being nice to you and you just started accusing me of all these things," he said resentfully.

"I was-" she opened her mouth to defend herself, but closed it in defeat as she realized that he was right. "I'm sorry," she mumbled sullenly. "I didn't mean to."

He was surprised that she had actually apologized, but he nodded, unsure of what to say. "Well," he said awkwardly, "I'm sorry too. If I ever ignored or aggravated you, that is."

"You do," she muttered quietly, but loud enough for him to hear.

"Hey!" he complained. "I do not!"

"Oh let's not go through this again," Hermione sighed.

They sat awkwardly for a few minutes, each unwilling to give in.

Finally, Ron cracked a small smile at her. "Let's forget about that, alright?"

She smiled back, looking a bit ashamed. "Yes. We were acting incredibly immature, weren't we?"  
  
He nodded solemnly. "Incredibly so."

Unexpectedly, Hermione threw her arms around his neck, hugging him. "Thanks, Ron," she mumbled into his shoulder, "And I'm sorry I was being stupid when you were being nice to me."

He was blushing, but he still managed to reply as he tentatively patted her back. "Err," he stammered, "It's okay."

Pulling back, she smiled at him.

He reddened even more as he realized that her face was well, rather close to his.

And then, impulsively, she leaned in and pecked him on the cheek. Drawing back, she whispered, "You're really a wonderful friend, Ron."

Ron was red, very, very, very red. And his mouth was dry and he was terribly nervous.

This was not a pleasant sensation.

On seeing his wide-eyed, startled look, Hermione bit her lip worriedly. "Ron," she asked, leaning in closer to observe him. "Are you alright?"

And she couldn't have been more surprised when he simply leaned towards her and brought his lips down on hers.

Nor could she have been more delighted.

When he drew away, they were both blushing furiously.

"I've really wanted to do that for a while," he whispered in awe.

"Well Ron..." Hermione pursed her lips together, her expression a strange one he had never seen before.

He gulped nervously, preparing himself for her rage.

But instead, she smiled shyly and pressed her lips to his after whispering, "...So have I."

Fred and George stood on the roof, looking down at the two happy couples snuggling on the lawn as they stargazed.

"You know," Fred remarked, "I think this all turned out quite well."

George nodded in agreement. "I may not like Ginny dating, but I have to admit," he said rather grudgingly, "That Harry isn't so bad."

"And if he hurts her," Fred grinned, "We can always find ways of torturing him."

They lapsed into silence for a moment, both imagining methods of torture for all of Ginny's potential boyfriends.

"Anyway," George finally commented, "Ron and Hermione turned out well."

"Finally!" Fred groaned, rolling his eyes. "It took them far too long."

"Well," George grinned mischievously, "Shall we give them a little hooray?"

And down below, four pairs of eyes widened in awe as a shower of sparks exploded in the sky, fiery shapes zooming about in the sky above them.

"Magic," the twins whispered before climbing back in through their window.

And had you asked any of the four teenagers lying on the grass below, they would've responded that yes, without a doubt, it had been a truly magical summer.

**The End**


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